Cornerstone
by LegendDairy
Summary: What if the Harry Potter stories had one key factor go just a little more realistically? Fluffy at first and Hinny through-out. Enjoy my take on something I haven't seen happen here before.
1. Day One

AN- I do not own Harry Potter.

Okay, disclaimer dealt with. This is going to be a slightly fluffy story. Because the Hinny is so cute.

**Some things to mention. I changed Ginny's birthday so that she was born a few weeks after Harry, and Ron was born around Hermione's birthday. And this has been updated since it's original posting to correct a few things for nit-pickers**

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Harry sat back in a chair at Kings Cross Station ready to head off for his sixth year of schooling at the wonderful castle he called home. He had been named Quidditch Captain this year and was thrilled. He really wanted the title since he was passed over for Prefect, this would give him some privileges that he didn't have last year, like being out passed curfew. And he was pretty sure his dad would have been proud.

This had been the first year that he had to find his way to Kings Cross on his own. His aunt and uncle, nasty people that they were, said they were fed up with having to cater to him. He woke at 6 a.m. to be sure that he got to London in plenty of time. He had. He'd needed to use some magic to shrink down his belongings, and sent his owl, Hedwig, ahead to the school. Surrey was only a one-hour drive from London, but taking the train with multiple changes he didn't want to leave anything to chance. He'd gone through the barrier between platforms nine and ten and deposited his belongings at 8 a.m. and then returned to the Muggle side to get some breakfast.

He'd had to find his own way to Diagon Alley too, and thought to exchange some of his gold coins for Muggle currency should such the situation arise.

Now he was just waiting. He didn't expect to see any of his fellow school mates for at least another two hours, so he was quite content with people watching and reminiscing.

His first few years attending the school had been fairly chaotic. The first years Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had been in league with Voldemort, the crazed dark wizard that had tried to kill him when he was a baby, and took the life of his parents. Harry had suspected that Professor Snape was the one after the Philosophers Stone, but when he and his friends discovered it was actually Professor Quirrell that had been trying to off Harry and had met his maker (suicide was the story given by Dumbledore, who found the body) at the end of term, Harry at the insistence of Hermione begrudgingly gained some respect for Snape.

His second year had been fairly normal, except for the completely inept new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor that kept trying to pull him aside and give him advise about how to deal with his fame. It seemed the whole school was grateful when some reporter did a thorough looking into his past and called him out in the Daily Prophet. He wound up being sent to Azkaban for a few years for using magic to erase people's memories and steal their stories of heroism for himself.

Third year was pretty miserable, with the exception of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He had been friends with Harry's parents and had shared several stories with Harry. Professor Lupin had become more on an uncle type to Harry than Vernon ever was, and he'd held the DADA position longer than any professor in years.

The reason that year had been miserable was because there were Dementors set to guard the school. Apparently everyone thought that an escaped convict from Azkaban was going to attack the school. The Dementors had a terrible effect on Harry, and he'd gotten help from Professor Lupin to learn the Patronus Charm. Thankfully there were no signs of break-ins all year and the Dementors were sent away because the convict was suspected to have fled to another country.

Fourth year was the Tri-Wizard Tournament. That had been pretty cool to watch. The only down side was that the Quidditch Cup was cancelled. That didn't stop he and some of his friends from having practice games though. Victor Krum even came and joined a few times. He was the Durmstrang Champion, and the seeker for the Bulgarian Quidditch team. It was pretty awesome to actually play with a professional.

Fifth year was just full of studying. Hermione was pretty strict about it, and insisted that Harry and Neville be as well. Both of them wound up being pretty grateful to her and swore to get her something extra nice for her birthday. So, they chipped in and got her an owl.

"Oi, don't expect me to wait around all day!" A loud, nearby voice behind him pulled him out of his reverie.

"No one is asking you to. We have hours to kill and I want some coffee." Came a feminine response. She didn't sound whiny or irritated in any way. Just point of fact and a little tired.

"We should drop our things off first don't you think?"

"No Ron, I don't think. I never think. I'm lucky we made it here from the Ministry with out me falling over. I need caffeine."

"Geez, did he keep you up all night? Fine. You go to Costa Coffee over there, I'll drop this off and meet you _right back here_. Understand?"

"Perfect. You're such a good porter." She told the one named Ron playfully.

He growled at her. "Get me a sandwich or something. Nothing with egg. I don't want to smell weird."

"Too late for that, but I'll do what I can." She replied cheekily.

Harry smiled at that. He didn't want to turn around and be nosy, but he was curious what they looked like. They sounded about his age, and from the way they were talking about the Ministry and being able to deposit their bags for their train that left in a few hours, he suspected that they were going on the same train.

The boy named Ron had to walk past him and Harry observed that he was about six feet tall with red hair. He had two small cases with him and Harry followed him with his eyes to the entrance to Platform 9 3/4.

Yep. They were headed to his school. But he didn't know anyone in and around his year named Ron. There had been a few new students over the years that started at Hogwarts after their OWL years. It was rare, but it happened sometimes. Usually they were from pureblood families, as then they had the resources to be educated at home until then. Maybe these two were doing that.

"Can I join you? The other tables are full." Harry heard the same feminine voice again. He looked up and his heart skipped a beat. He'd been told that his father fell in love with his mother at first sight, according to everyone that had known him that was the case. Harry had thought that was a far stretch considering they had been eleven, and never believed in that fairy tale moment.

Until now.

This girl was beautiful. She had a white summer dress on that stopped above her knees and her hair, which matched Ron's in colour, hung down past the middle of her back. But what really drew him in was her face. The big expressive brown eyes, dusting of freckles over her cute nose, and the pouty lips. He could only nod to her question.

"Thanks." She sat down and laid her food purchases on the table they were now sharing. He took a quick look around and noticed that there were actually several other chairs and tables available, she'd just opted to join him rather than sit by herself. "Are you catching a train, or did you just come here for the food?" She asked cheekily to start a conversation.

He swallowed thickly and tried to make his voice sound normal. "Train. It, uh, doesn't leave for a while yet."

"Ah, ours neither." She took a sip of her coffee. "Ours being mine and my brothers. He should be back in a minute. Just dropping off our things." She nodded and he noticed her sizing him up a bit.

"Just so you know, um, Muggle trains don't work like that." He said to indicate that he knew which train she would be taking. She smiled widely in response. He forgot to breath for a moment. He'd never had such a strong reaction to a girl before. Cho Chang was the only other girl he'd ever really been interested in. And while he'd gotten over that pretty quickly, in part to her super hero boyfriend Cedric, he remembered feeling a little flustered around her at first, but she'd never given him heart palpitations.

"I wondered if that was the case. What year are you going into?" She leaned forward putting her forearms on the table. He could see the crease of her cleavage now and did his best not to look at it. She had lovely apple sized breasts. He shifted his legs slightly.

"Sixth. And you? You are just starting there?" He asked.

"Sixth as well. My brother and I both passed our OWL's last year. We were home schooled up until now. There were too many of us kids to send us all to Hogwarts. You might remember one of my brothers though. Percy. He was Head Boy a few years ago."

"Percy Weasley?" Harry asked excitedly. He felt a small thrill discovering that he had this obscure link to her now. "Yeah, he was Head Boy in my third year. We were in the same house. He was…" He searched for the right word to describe him. Nice? Welcoming? Those didn't fit. He mostly had his nose in the air and was ready to jump in and tell you what was what.

"Pompous?" She offered with a smile and a head tilt. "It's okay. He still is. We love him anyways." She assured him. "So, let me ask you." She leaned in a little more. "Is it really amazing? Hogwarts?" There was so much excitement and anticipation in her eyes. He wanted to wait to answer her just so he could have an excuse to keep staring into those eyes.

"It's the best place I've ever been." He answered breathlessly. "It's amazing, mysterious, and wonderful. There are some downsides, but I wouldn't trade Hogwarts for anything." He saw her shiver a bit. He couldn't stop his voice from getting dreamy. He caught up with himself and blushed. "Hopefully I'm not overselling it for you. It was just the first place I ever felt was… home."

She had a soft smile on her face now, and what ever she was going to say next was cut off.

"What's this?" Ron had shown up.

"Hey." She jerked back to sit up in her seat. "I got you a BLT sandwich. No complaints." She said to her brother and pushed the sandwich over to him.

Ron sat down, nodded slightly to Harry and opened up the packaging on his breakfast. "Train was still empty."

"Figured." She shrugged.

"Think I was the first one to drop off my things." Harry said.

"You going to Hogwarts too?" Ron said a little loudly.

"Oi, say it a little louder, will you?" She chastised. Ron shrugged in response and started into his sandwich. She turned back to Harry. "You'll have to excuse him. My parents decided to send him to school with me because they'd given up trying to teach him manners at home." She rolled her eyes.

Harry smiled at her. "Are you twins?" He was curious. Besides the hair they didn't really share any other features. She certainly didn't have his height. She could only have been 5'5.

"No. We would be considered Irish Twins though if we were born in the same calendar year. Ron is turning seventeen in three weeks, I just turned sixteen." She took another pull from her coffee cup and made a satisfied humming noise that made Harry need shift a bit.

"Must be nice having a sibling so close in age."

The two gingers exchanged mischievous smiles. "You must be an only child." Ron shook his head.

"Hey! It was nice growing up with all of you boys. I had a great time, especially once I got my wand!" She laughed.

"Biggest mistake our parents ever made was having you." Ron replied jokingly.

"Pft, yeah right! They kept going until they had it right!" She responded. She turned back to Harry. "We have five other siblings." She explained.

Harry was a bit floored at that idea. Seven kids! "That was quite a gap they left between you two and Percy."

"You remember Percy?" Ron asked smiling. "Right, Head Boy. How could I have forgotten. He only talks about it every time we see him." He rolled his eyes.

"We actually have twin brothers in between Percy and Ron, but they only wanted to get their OWL's. They work for Zonko's right now. Fred and George." She told him.

"So, Percy, Fred, George, and Ron." Harry pointed to Ron. "And what is your name?"

"Geez, we didn't even properly introduce ourselves." She laughed. "I'm Ginny Weasley." She extended her hand to him.

He slipped his hand into hers and felt a little jolt run through him at the contact. He was pleased when he noticed a little red rise to her face. He hoped she was feeling what he was. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Harry Potter."

"Shut up!" Ron said with his mouth hanging open.

Ginny's eyes went wide and her grip on his hand slackened.

Harry kept forgetting people reacted to his name this way, it had been a while since he'd even met someone new. He clenched up a bit. He really didn't want her to judge him based on his name.

Ginny and her brother turned to each other and had some kind of shared sibling moment that Harry didn't understand. They both had slow grins come to their face and Ginny blushed before they both started laughing. She punched him on the shoulder and Harry was thoroughly confused.

"Ron! Don't." She laughed.

"Oh, come on Gin. If ever there was a perfect time to tease you about it. This is it!"

"Ron." She warned with a smile still plastered on her face.

"Super great to meet you Harry. I'm sure you will make a fine member of the family." Ron said and continued laughing.

"Oh Merlin." Ginny rested her forehead on the table a second then brought it up and looked at Harry. "Please ignore him."

"What's going on?" Harry asked. He too was smiling nervously at their antics.

"Well, see Ginny here." Ron didn't get to finish because Ginny pushed him out of his chair. "Oi!" Ron said from the floor.

"There is no bloody way I am going to let _you _tell him!" She turned back to Harry. "I am really sorry. Thing is, when I was little my eldest brothers would read me this bedtime story about you and I kind of developed a crush on the Harry Potter in the story. I have been teased about it ever since." She glared at Ron.

Harry felt tingles race through his entire body. She had a crush on him? He didn't know whether to be super elated because she might still have a crush on him, or disappointed that she might only now decide to like him because of it. She had seemed really friendly before she'd found out though. That was a good sign.

She put her hand on his arm and he felt that feeling again in his chest. "I assure you it was nothing more than a little girl crush and I got over it when I was, like, ten." She bit her lip.

"Yeah, but until that point, when ever her brothers were forced to play dress-up with her one of us always had to be Harry Potter."

"I… Don't know what to do with this information." Harry said honestly looking between the two of them.

"Nothing!" Ginny told him. "Please do absolutely nothing about this information. In fact, you can just completely forget it." Her eyes pleaded with his. "I can obliviate you later if you'd like." She looked so cute asking that he almost told her he'd love that if it meant spending more time with her. "We can change the subject now." She assured him. "What is the Gryffindor Quidditch team like?"

"You like Quidditch?" Harry perked up.

"Yeah, both of us play. I'm a Keeper." Ron said, then gestured to Ginny. "She's a Chaser."

"Fantastic. You any good? I need to replace basically everyone this year."

"You need to replace? Are you the Quidditch Captain?" Ginny asked eagerly.

"Erm, yeah." Harry managed to stop himself from puffing out his chest. He hoped it impressed her.

"Wicked. We're both pretty good. But we've only played each other. We've got regular Nimbus brooms, so they aren't really fast, but we know all the tricks to them." Ron said.

They carried on their conversation about Quidditch at the table until a half hour before the train and decided to move the conversation to a compartment.

"So, why didn't your parents drop you off?" Harry asked Ginny when they sat down. Ron had gone off to use the facilities.

"Dad works at the Ministry of Magic, which has an entrance not too far away from the train station. Ron and I went with him there by Floo. Mum is a home body, doesn't like the hustle and bustle unless it's in our kitchen, she's also got our little nephew to watch over today. Love the little tyke, but he woke me up a few times last night" She said off hand. "Plus, we were raised to be pretty independent." Ginny shrugged. "Personally, I think my mum was eager to have some time to herself and the little one. It's the quietest the house has been in twenty years. The twins just moved to a flat in Hogsmeade a few months ago."

"Harry!" Hermione had appeared at the compartment door. "Hi! How was your summer?" Harry beamed at his friend and got up to give her a hug. "I spent time with my parents in France again, and of course read all of our new books." She prattled on. "Hello." She turned to Ginny. "I'm Hermione Granger."

"Ginny Weasley." Ginny shook her hand.

"Pleasure to meet you." Hermione turned back to Harry. "Thank you for the owl! He is ever so useful."

"Wow, you bought your girlfriend an owl? Big brownie points Potter." Ginny said with a half-smile.

His brain to mouth function shut off at that comment. "No!" Harry almost shouted. Both girls looked surprised at him. "I mean." He lowered his voice. "Hermione is not my girlfriend." He blushed a bit. Hermione smirked at him. She'd suffered through his crush on Cho Chang, she was familiar with the signs of him making a fool of himself because he liked a girl. He hoped she wouldn't embarrass him, though that wasn't her style. "The gift was for her birthday and a big thank you from me and our other friend at helping us with our OWL's."

"Oh." Ron appeared at the door and came up beside Hermione. "Hello." He smiled at her and looked her over shyly. "I'm Ron. Ron Weasley." He introduced himself. Harry thought it looked like they both had the same problem in interacting with attractive members of the opposite sex.

Harry sometimes forgot that Hermione was a girl. She was just Hermione to him. But objectively he had to say she really had become quite pretty. "Hermione Granger." She blushed a bit greeting him.

"So." Ginny said cutting in. "You helped your friends manage through their OWLs, do you think you might be able to help Ron and I with some essays?" She asked as they all sat down. "This is our first time dealing with formal education. We're great at tests, but have very little experience with essays. We'll need some guidance. Just to be clear though, I won't be able to pay you back with a live animal, but maybe a delicious treat on the first Hogsmeade visit."

"Oh! Sure. I'd love to help you both." Hermione beamed with pride. "You really don't need to do anything in return."

"You'd do best to take her up on her study schedule offer too." Harry added.

"Sounds great." Ron said. "And I'll definitely want to do something in return for you at Hogsmeade." He winked at her.

Maybe Ron doesn't have such a hard time as Harry with the ladies after all Harry though as Hermione giggled. Actually giggled. He didn't think he'd ever heard her do that before.

"Well." She was fairly red now. "I should head up to the front for the Prefects meeting. Tell Neville I said thanks for the owl too when he arrives."

"You've got loads of time before the train leaves." Ron said. "Stay and chat a bit longer. What's your owl's name?"

"Archimedes." She said, staying in her seat and smiling at him.

"Very nice. Much better name than anything Ginny could have come up with." Ron nodded and gestured to Ginny with her thumb.

"Hey! I come up with great names!"

"Pigwidgeon?" Ron challenged.

"I still stand by it!"

"Sirius Black?"

"I thought that was funny!" She laughed.

"You named a pet Sirius Black?" Hermione asked her with her mouth agape at the idea.

"Yeah. She brings home this huge mangy mutt when she's twelve and decides it's going to be her dog, and goes and names the thing after the escaped criminal!"

"Well he was all black, and Sirius is the name of the dog star. I thought it was perfect. And, might I point out that he responded to it right away!"

"Oh hey." He said sarcastically. "He's also a murderer!"

"Still on about that! He was starving, you saw the way he looked when he first came home with me. And you hated that rat! Sirius has been a great dog ever since, and he looks so much better now."

"Your parents were fine with you naming him that?" Harry asked her.

"No one has a choice when it comes to Ginny." Ron responded. "When she wants something there's no talking her out of it."

Ginny shrugged and smiled at Harry. "Pretty much. I am the baby after all. I'm not going to apologize for it." Harry thought he was sure to discover she would be the most endearing kind of stubborn.

"What house do you think you'll get sorted into?" Hermione asked them.

"Gryffindor." The Weasleys answered at the same time.

"Our whole family has been Gryffindor's, generations of them. We aren't going to start bucking tradition." Ginny said. "And we just found out that Harry here will be our Quidditch Captain, can't pass up that opportunity." She winked at him.

Harry heart skipped a beat and he felt warmth spread up his neck and it made his smile even bigger.

"Right, you have to go to the front." Ginny said to Hermione. "I have to find the loo, so I'll walk you out."

"Sure!" Hermione stood up. "Love your dress by the way."

"Thanks! Thought I should put in some effort this morning. Try to make a good impression." Ginny said straightening out her outfit. Harry appreciated how she was standing sideways to him so he could see the curve of her chest before her flat stomach. He was grateful now that she was going to be exiting the compartment and might not notice how his lower half was responding to flowery scent and close proximity to her bare legs.

"So, Hermione." Ron said as soon as the girls closed the door and started down the corridor. "Is she seeing anyone?" He looked a little worried waiting for the answer.

"No, she isn't." Harry said slowly. It was obvious that Ron was interested in her, but Harry was a little protective of her, she was his best friend, and she hadn't really dated anyone before. He'd rather find out the type of person Ron was before encouraging anything.

"And you and her. You aren't, um." Ron asked awkwardly.

"No. Definitely not. We've been great friends since we were eleven. I don't see her that way. She's more of a sister to me." Harry assured him.

"And as her pseudo brother. Do you know if she's interested in anyone else?" Ron looked pretty nervously, and Harry took that as a good sign.

"Erm. No, she doesn't really talk to me about that stuff though. Totally blindsided me when she showed up to the Yule ball two years ago with Victor Krum." Harry said off hand.

Ron's jaw dropped. "Victor Krum? She went out with Victor Krum?" He shrunk back in his seat. "Damn."

They sat there awkwardly for the next few minutes. Ron was staring at his shoes. Harry knew he probably shouldn't have told him that. If he'd heard that Ginny had dated some famous guy he'd feel pretty down and out too. Hermione hadn't talked about Krum to Harry since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, he was pretty sure they still wrote each other occasionally.

"Wow." Ginny said as she entered the compartment again. Harry looked up at her and was again blown away by the effect she had on him. She'd only been gone for five minutes and he'd already thought he'd built up how angelic she was in his head. "What happened? Did you tell him you support the Cannons and it got weird?" She joked to Ron.

"No." Ron mumbled.

Ginny stepped over his legs and sat across from Harry again. "Well cheer up. Hermione asked me about you while I walked her to the prefect's compartment." Ginny beamed.

"Really?" Ron perked up.

"Yep, wanted to know if you flirted with every girl you saw, or if she might be an exception."

"And?"

"And what?" She asked him with innocent eyes.

Ron punched her lightly on the shoulder. "And what did you tell her."

"Oh!" Ginny feigned new found understanding. "Well, I told her that you flirted with any girl that you though was easy, but your shagging ratio was only one out of three." She teased.

"What did you actually tell her?" Ron asked threateningly.

Ginny rolled her eyes at him. "I said that it wasn't normal, and it probably took you a lot of nerve to manage that wink at her earlier."

"Why would you say that?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Alright! Relax. Girls like that they are an exception and that guys get all flustered over them, but stumble through flirting anyways." Harry was listening carefully to that part.

"You're sure?"

"Pretty sure I'm a girl, yeah." She said dryly.

"Oh, you're a different kind of girl." Ron said dismissively.

Ginny looked away from Ron and to Harry at that. "This is why I was desperate to go to Hogwarts this year. I need some social interaction that doesn't involve this idiot."

Harry gave her his best attempt at a charming smile. "Happy to help with any of your needs this year." He said. Then his face dropped. "I mean…" Ginny raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh. Your social needs." He knew he was blushing furiously now. Did that count as a flustering flirt? He wondered.

"Thanks Harry." She smirked at him. She stood up to get her bag down from the shelf above them and pulled out a book. Harry took the opportunity to appreciate her legs and backside as she did so. While she was putting it back the compartment door opened again.

"Hey Potter. Have a good summer with the…" Draco Malfoy was standing at the door and seemed to have stopped mid-sentence because he was now caught up in ogling Ginny. He was raking his eyes over her lustily. "Well hello there. I don't believe we've met." He said in a pompous drawl. "Draco Malfoy." He stepped into the compartment.

Harry felt his hatred for Malfoy hit a new level. This prick had been a thorn in his side since he first stepped onto Hogwarts grounds, now he was blatantly hitting his love interest? He was a second from getting up to forcibly remove him from the compartment before he heard Ron snort.

Draco glared down at him. "And you are?"

"My brother." Ginny replied glaring at him. "But please, go on. I believe you were about to say something along the lines of 'what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?'" She crossed her arms in front of her. "At least that's what I'm conveying from your tone."

"Feisty thing, aren't you." Draco turned his attention back to her and was blatantly obvious now about looking her body up and down.

"You have no idea." She growled at him. Then her demeanor changed all together. "But, just so we can get this all laid on the table. Are you trying to hit on me?" She bit her lip and looked at him curiously.

"Trying?" Draco said playfully.

"Good. Just checking." She turned to Harry. "He isn't a friend of yours, is he?"

"Definitely not." He confirmed.

"Good." She turned back to Draco. "Then I suggest you piss off before you embarrass yourself further."

Harry was thoroughly confused by Ron's reaction to this. Shouldn't her brother be defending her honor or something? Harry was certainly ready too. But Ron was beet red and biting his fist to try and stifle his laughter.

"And how would this be embarrassing. You can't possibly be a Muggle born." Ginny narrowed her eyes at him. "Only purebloods would opt to come to Hogwarts starting any year but first."

"And how many pureblood families do you know of with red hair?" She asked sweetly with a hint of malice. Draco gave her a confused look. "Think really hard."

Harry watched as realization dawned on Draco's face. "You're a Weasley?" He almost spat.

"Damn right. Now piss off." Ginny took a step forward and Draco took a step back. "Wouldn't want to get any dirty blood traitor on your nice cloak, now would you?"

Draco sneered at her in response before backing up all the way out of the compartment and heading back off down the hallway. Ginny closed the door behind him.

"Our families don't get on. Incase you couldn't tell." Ron snickered to Harry. "Nicely handled Gin."

"Why thank you." She sat down and picked up her book setting it in her lap.

Harry searched his mind for something to keep talking about with her, and thought it best to find something other than Quidditch. She may be keen to play Chaser, but he didn't know many girls that wanted to carry on incessantly about it. He knew nothing about siblings, or home schooling, or purebloods, and he didn't recognize the title of the book she was going to read. He did remember Percy though. "What is Percy doing now?"

"Works as an under secretary for the Minister of Magic." Ron answered.

"Oh…" Harry had no idea what that entailed.

"I know. It's even boring to hear the job title. Be thankful he wasn't here himself to tell you about it." Ginny told him. "He came home last night for the farewell dinner and prattled on and on about doctrines and diplomatic changes. Blah blah blah." She rolled her eyes. "Our other brothers have much more interesting jobs." She smiled.

"Yeah, our oldest, Bill, works as a curse breaker for Gringotts in Egypt!" Ron said excitedly. "We went to visit him there a few years back, it was wicked."

"It was super interesting." Ginny nodded. "We went into the tunnels of the pyramids." She shuddered. "The things they did to their slaves was disgusting, but it was a really cool experience."

"That's really neat. I'd love to travel. I haven't been anywhere." Harry told them. "What about your other brother?"

"Charlie." Ron nodded. "He used to work at the Dragon Sanctuary in Romania. We went to visit him a year after he started there too, that was also super cool. Saw a Norwegian Ridgeback up close, and a Hungarian Horntail."

"You probably would have seen them too! Some of them were brought over here for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Charlie was one of the contacts here to help set it up." Ginny told him.

"He isn't at the sanctuary anymore?"

"No, he works here for the Department of Magical Creatures." Ron said. "He.. umm. He had to move back a few years ago."

Ginny picked up the story. "He got a witch pregnant, she had the baby, then buggered off. He had to move back to England with our nephew so he would have a support system." Her eyes were so expressive that Harry could see all the hurt and affection that she was experiencing from that family drama. "Kenneth is three now, and the most adorable boy in the world."

To Harry it looked like she wanted nothing more than to wrap the little boy up in a hug right then. "It looks like you are going to miss him."

She sighed. "Oh, I will. He is going to be so big by the next time I see him, and I don't want him forgetting who I am. I'm going to see if Charlie can bring him to Hogsmeade one of the weekends we're going." She looked off wistfully.

"Ginny has a real soft spot for him. She coddles him." Ron poked her in the arm.

"Hey, I helped raise him until this point. It isn't coddling, I just love the cuddles and I'm going to miss them." She gave the most adorable pout. "I'm going to go through cuddling withdrawal." She turned to Harry. "That may be one of my 'social needs' this year." She smiled and raised her eyebrows at Harry suggestively.

"Well I did already promise to help you with those." He smiled and gave her a playful suggestive look back.

Ron groaned and the compartment opened again. "Heyya Harry." Neville had found them. Harry made the introductions.

"You don't have another plant this year, do you?" Harry asked Neville tentatively.

Neville laughed. Harry explained the Mimbulus Mimbletoina from the previous years train ride that sprayed them all with Stink Sap.

Once the train started conversation flowed easily between the four of them. Harry felt a fluttering in his stomach every time he looked over at Ginny. Even when she was just sitting there reading her book, some new fascinating feature of her would appear to him. How the sun light caught her hair, the gentle movement of her fingers as she turned the page, or how she would bite the side of her bottom lip as she read. He was really hoping she was serious about wanting cuddles from him.

Hermione came back just after the trolley lady went by. It still astounded him how Dean Thomas got prefect over him for Gryffindor, but now that he was Quidditch Captain he knew that would take up a lot of his spare time, so Prefects duties would really pile on to that. And now he hoped Ginny would take up the rest of his spare time.

When they got to Hogsmeade station Hermione directed the Weasley's to head over to Hagrid so they could take the boats with the first years.

"You'll save us seats by you at the Gryffindor table, won't you?" Ron asked Hermione, putting a hand on her elbow.

"Ye-yes." She stuttered back.

Harry waved farewell to them and directed Hermione to the carriages.

During the sorting ceremony he was so caught up with staring at Ginny that Hermione had to tell him to stop clapping at every kid that was sorted. She and Neville were chuckling at him, but he was nervous. Their last name started with a W, so they would be next to last to be sorted. What if the hat decided that they belonged in another house? He knew it didn't work that way, but he was already thinking about potential cuddle sessions in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room with her and not being rational.

He clapped extra hard when she was sorted into Gryffindor, and tried to play it cool as she made her way up the table to sit beside him. Ron sat between Neville and Hermione once he was sorted into Gryffindor as well.

Harry didn't even taste the food that night, he was so nervous thinking about how and when to ask her out. He knew he should wait. She was going to be getting settled into a new school, and he didn't want to be seen as playing favorites when he put her on the Quidditch team, which he totally was because he hadn't even seen them play, but could already picture her in the jersey.

AN- This story came to me from a comment I received early on in my Clever story. For those of you who didn't read that, Ginny came into some money from patenting a color changing nail polish and paid for her tuition to go to Ilvermory.

The review commented that Ginny should have been helping out her family financially. And instead of taking that as a judgement on my character, it got my creative juices flowing.

There are so many 'what if Harry didn't go to Hogwarts' stories. But wouldn't it make more sense if the one's to not go to Hogwarts were the seven pureblood children in the single income family? Expense for school supplies would have been quite expensive, particularly with five kids for three years attending. Cauldrons, books, uniforms, other supplies.

YES, I KNOW THAT HOGWARTS DOES NOT HAVE TUITION.

Can you tell those reviews are bugging me?


	2. Try Me Out

**Chapter Two- Try Me Out**

Ginny had never been instantly attracted to someone like that before. Not that she'd met many prospects being basically confined to the Burrow and Ottery St. Catchpole her whole life. But, when she saw him sitting at the table at Kings Cross looking over towards platform 9 ¾ at first, she was concerned that he'd see Ron go through the barrier. When he didn't show any surprise, she figured he must be a Hogwarts student too, but wasn't one hundred percent sure until later.

That morning she'd certainly hoped that she'd meet someone at Hogwarts that would get her as interested as she had been. That was why she'd spent so long painstakingly doing her hair that morning and hummed and hawed over what she was going to wear on the train ride. She'd even taken a little bit of makeup from her mum to hide the circles under her eyes a bit. Opting to try and cuddle with her nephew all night had turned out to be immensely stupid. The kid was all elbow and fee. Regardless, she had been determined to shove all of her nervousness down, and try to act like she wasn't deliriously excited and trepidatious.

Sitting down with him and claiming it was because there were no other open tables was a bold move. She was incredibly nervous about how she might be coming across. But he was so cute, and she'd had very little interaction with boys before that weren't related to her. At first, she didn't know if he'd heard her, or didn't find her joke about having no where else to sit funny. After he nodded and she sat she saw him look around and realize she'd lied. But he didn't say anything about it, and looked pleased with her choice of joining him.

Talking to him had been so easy, and his blush had been so endearing. Ginny wondered if most of the boys at school would be like this. But she'd couldn't imagine they would all have this affect on her. She kept biting her lip in an effort to make herself stop smiling like a maniac.

When Ron came over and they actually exchanged names she was floored. This was the boy she'd been wanting to meet since she could remember. His was the bed time story she'd begged for until she could read it herself, and got tired of the teasing. Her day dreams of prince charming had all looked almost exactly like this boy across from her. Because they were this boy across from her.

And there was no way that she was going to let Ron be the one to tell him that.

Thankfully he'd taken it well, and she'd played it as cool as possible. Ginny said a silent prayer thanking the Gods later when she noticed he was looking at her the same way she wanted to look at him. In an effort to not make a fool of herself she tried to come off playful and suggestive. When he started responding the same way her stomach started doing somersaults.

Ginny had wanted to praise Ron for holding back and letting her deal with Malfoy. Just that morning their father had said that though he didn't want to pass on the prejudice, but if they ran into a Malfoy to 'give him hell'. Thankfully the Malfoy boy had made that easy, and she thought she'd handled it quite nicely.

It was so good to find that Harry's friends were really nice, they both detested the same person, he was the freaking Quidditch Captain, and, my God, did she ever just want to drown herself in those emerald eyes.

Though, she knew she should try to hold herself back, she was already bringing scenarios to mind of him showing her around the castle and 'accidentally' getting locked in a broom cupboard with him. Bill had told a few stories of what he'd caught couples getting up to in broom cupboards, and she wanted to do those things with him.

The Weasleys were a pretty prolific family. It was no secret that Bill was conceived out of wedlock, he was too big at time of birth to pass off as pre-mature. But her parents were already in love and about to get married by the time they'd found out about him. Because of this, and the six boys that came before her, her mother had pulled her aside after her birthday and taught her the contraceptive charm. She was told that her virginity was something best held on to until she met the right person, but when she did it was something she should be prepared for.

Ron was given a likewise instruction by her father.

Neither of them had much, really any, experience with the opposite sex. They'd snuck off onto the roof of the Burrow the night they had their talks with their gender parents to laugh about it nervously, then have a serious discussion about what they'd do if they did meet someone they wanted to use the charm with. Ron promised he wouldn't go all 'big brother' on her, he knew she could take care of herself. And she promised she'd give him what ever advise she could in the 'understanding girls' department.

All of the Weasley siblings were close, but they all had their favorites. Charlie and Bill were close, Fred and George were almost the same person, and Ginny and Ron were close. Percy, while a little more ridged than the rest of them, favored Bill. He had been Head Boy too, and Percy idolized him.

After the sorting she was all too happy that Harry had saved her a spot right beside him. Thankfully the food at Hogwarts was delicious, just as good as her mothers, though she and Ron had wondered about how they would be able to get snacks through out the day. Three meals a day and nothing else was not something they were used to. They wrote to Bill about that before they left home and he told them where the kitchens were, and the prefects bathroom though he didn't know what the password might be now. Percy was too rigid to share that information.

She met the rest of the Gryffindor students in her year that night after the sorting, there were only three other girls she'd be sharing her dorm with. She'd gotten the low down on how best to create some privacy for changing and such. Lavender and Parvati seemed super close with each other. Witch Weekly was their gospel, and the Divination professor was their favorite. They were nice enough, but she preferred Hermione. Hermione seemed a little less 'head in the clouds', and she truly was doing Ginny and Ron a huge favor offering to help them with their first few assignments.

Ron had been really keen to start hanging out with her right away, which was fine with Ginny because Hermione was hanging out with Harry and Neville.

The first night in Gryffindor tower all the sixth years congregated around the couch and chairs in the common room. It looked like they were all eager to get to know Ginny and Ron as much as Ginny and Ron were to get to know them. Ginny got to sit by Harry on the floor by the fire, they didn't exchange many glances, but they were slightly leaning against each other, and that had felt very nice.

First day of school was a Tuesday. She had double Potions, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Care of Magical Creatures all with the Slytherin's except for Charms which was with the Hufflepuffs. Harry, Hermione, and Ron all had the same schedule that day. Neville was in three of the same classes.

The professors where such wildly different people she was astounded. Professor Snape seemed to detest the Gryffindors, which made sense because he was head of Slytherin house. He'd given her a curious look when she came in, and she noticed he looked at her more than the other students. Hopefully that was due to her being new, and he was familiarizing himself. His instructions were terrible, but luckily she and Ron had a great teacher in their mother for this subject, so they could translate.

Professor Flitwick was so chipper and direct. It was easy to see why he had been chosen to this position. Normally half-goblins were more akin to the temperament of full goblins, which were unsavory towards humans. He seemed so excited to have Ron and Ginny join the school, he'd remembered their brothers and said he had great expectations for them. Ron squashed those pretty fast when he failed horribly at his non-verbal spells.

Ginny could tell that Professor Lupin was Harry's favorite, and Harry seemed to be his favorite student too. The man was a great instructor, and appeared to be thoroughly knowledgeable. She assumed he'd fought in the previous war. As Defense against the Dark Arts was her worst subject, only earning herself an Acceptable, she was all too happy to have a proper instructor. Harry and Hermione helped her out greatly with correcting her wand movements too.

Professor Hagrid she'd been expecting. Charlie had told them some stories about him when they'd met during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. She knew he was probably a half-giant and while he came across as a big softy, he could manage magical creatures just as well as Newt Scamander himself.

The next day she'd met Professor McGonagall, a strict but fair woman who was sharp as a tack. Ginny knew she would learn plenty from her and was hoping to discuss becoming an Animagus with her as well. It was something Ginny had wanted since she'd heard of it.

Professor Vector was as strict as Professor McGonagall, and taught at rapid speed. Ginny was very grateful that Hermione was in the class with her, because she only managed to copy down about half of what was said. After the first class Hermione gave her a guide to shorthand for the Arithmancy class so her notes could be taken with more ease.

Professor Babbling was the last one she met. Here she felt she'd really get her chance to shine. Bill had been her tutor for this subject, and he was excellent at them. She'd asked him for some help over the summer when he was visiting to get her a little ahead in the subject too. As it turned out, he wasn't lying when he'd told her she'd be a little bit ahead of the rest of her class with what he'd taught her.

The timing for the OWL's at the Ministry varied from Hogwarts as well, so the past year they had focused on 5 subjects for half the year, took the OWL, then moved on to another 5 subjects. Their mum didn't care if they were interested in the subjects either. They were to learn everything and then let the OWL's dictate their strengths. The exception was Divination and Muggle Studies. Divination, because their mother couldn't teach it, and Muggle Studies because they would all just head into town and spend time among the Muggles to learn.

()()()

By the first Saturday Ginny's brain was fried and she was more than looking forward to Quidditch try-outs. Their schedule at home was much more relaxed. They'd deal with one subject a day, morning was reading through the textbook and theory behind the lesson, afternoon was practical. Once they understood they were set to chores or just playing around outside. Going for a run in the orchard, swimming in the pond, flying, or practicing duels.

Harry had scheduled them for 10 a.m. which meant she could sleep in a bit and still get a full breakfast before having to be out on the pitch. She was so excited. She'd chosen her nicest work out kit for the try-outs, ignoring that they were feeling a little more snug on her than they had the last time she'd worn them at the beginning of the summer.

She met up with Ron in the common room, broom in hand and a big smile on her face as she approached him.

"Whoa, mind throwing on a t-shirt or something?" Ron said to her with a weary and surprised look on his face.

"What?" Her steps faltered.

"Gin, I know you want on the team, but you're, like, poppin' out." He gestured to her chest. "Pretty sure you're good enough with-out all that."

She looked down. These clothes had been what she'd worn when they played in the back yard at the Burrow for the last two years. It was just a sports bra and a sleeveless undershirt, but she hadn't realized that she'd developed over the summer and Ron was right, she was showing more cleavage than usual. His volume had unfortunately drawn the eyes of several other people in the common room to the situation as well.

"Oh fuck" She muttered and turned around to head back up the stairs. "It fit two months ago." She said loudly back to Ron. She threw on a Holyhead Harpies t-shirt and ran back downstairs. "Better?"

Ron gave her a good natured smirk and nodded, then they headed down to the pitch.

Once they'd gotten there, they were a little confused.

There were plenty of students trying out for a spot on the team, but some of these students looked like they were first years, and some were from other houses.

"Aren't you in Ravenclaw?" Ginny asked a pretty dark-haired girl that she was fairly certain was a fourth year.

The girl shrugged. "Yeah, but I wouldn't miss an opportunity like this." The girl winked at her.

At first Ginny didn't know what she meant. She could try out for her own house team, why was she at the Gryffindor try-outs. But then she noticed how the girl was following Harry around with her eyes and batting her heavily mascaraed eye lashes.

Ginny walked back over to where Ron was standing. "Looks like you've got some competition." He teased her.

Ginny growled in response.

"Alright." Harry yelled over the top of everyone's voices. "First thing is laps." The majority of the people on the field mounted their brooms and were about to kick off. "Not in the air, on the ground. You want on the team you need to be in shape enough to be on the team. Everyone line-up over there." He indicated towards the entrance they came through. "Five people at a time start on my whistle." He divided everyone up. When he put Ginny in a group he directed her by gently grabbing hold of her arm and grazing his hand down her arm when he let go.

She couldn't help the girlie smile that came to her face at that. The Ravenclaw girl shot daggers at her with her eyes, even more so when Harry kicked her and her friends out.

The groups started running at one-minute intervals. The pitch was maybe a half kilometer oval. He hadn't said how many times they had to run around it. Luckily she and Ron were both in really good shape. They ran all over the grounds around the Burrow, and their chores coupled with playing Quidditch and swimming in the pond every day in the summer they were reasonably fit.

She was placed in the third go of people, Ron was in the first and had already been far ahead of his heat. Ginny had caught up to the heat ahead of her, and even passed one of the guys from Ron's heat before completing the first lap. Clearly physical education wasn't something that was important to the school.

Harry sent half the people that were left over packing before dividing the left overs into teams for the actual try outs. Sixteen people were left, so they had enough players with some left over to play a game.

Neither of the Weasleys could contain the grins on their faces. This was the first time they weren't doing just two or three a side. They'd seen some professional games over the years and were really eager. Ron performed exceptionally, so did the other Keeper. Harry took attitude into account and gave Ron the slot, the other Keeper was very haughty.

Ginny got one of the Chaser slots along with another girl Demelza Robbins, who was a third year. She played amazingly and was excellent at dodging the Bludgers. Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote were cast as Beaters, they had played off each other like they'd been doing it for years.

The team looked like it was going to phenomenal and she couldn't wait for actual practices.

"I don't know about you, but I am wicked sore right now." Ron said after they hugged each other in congratulations.

"Oh, absolutely. Hey." She said conspiratorially. "Think we should try to get the team together for a 'bonding session' in the prefects bathroom?"

Ron grinned at her. "Definitely. We know where it is, but what if the password changed?"

Ginny tilted her head at him. "Maybe you should ask Hermione if it has, and invite her along."

Ron blushed. His interest in the girl had not disappeared, he had asked Ginny about her a few times, but Ginny encouraged him to find things out directly from Hermione, so he didn't come off looking like a stalker. Hermione seemed to return his affections so it was only a matter of time until Ron worked up the nerve to actually do something about it.

"Can you ask her, please? And then invite her to join us too, as like, a thank you for the password." He toed the ground a bit in sheepishness.

"You just want to see her in a swimming costume." Ginny nudged him in the shoulder.

His sparkling eyes met hers in anticipation of that. "Hell yeah I do!" He admitted. Then lowered his voice mischievously. "Hey, do these guys look a little too young for us to bring a bottle of fire whiskey with us?" As an early birthday present for him each of their brothers had provided him with a bottle of something so he could celebrate his coming of age birthday properly, clearly not consulting each other first.

"Ritchie and Demelza do, but we can just not encourage them to have some." Ginny shrugged. "What time do you think? It's way too early now."

"After dinner?" He offered. "Gives us enough time to get the password elsewhere if she doesn't want to break the rules."

"Yeah, and the soreness will have us moving real slow by then." She looked over at Harry who had finally waved off the people who were mad about not having made the team. "Come on, lets go offer to help clean up and tell him about our 'bonding session' later." They both went over as he was struggling to put the Bludgers back in the chest. "That was great." Ginny told Harry. "You certainly picked what'll shape up to be a great team this year." Ginny added the Quaffle to the box.

Harry grinned up at her, there was a smattering of dirt on his face from rolling around on the ground with the Bludgers. "Good to hear you approve." He gave her a once over. "Katie was really impressed with you and Demelza."

"Yeah, Katie is really great too. I can see why she's held the position since her second year." Ginny nodded.

"So, Ginny and I had a thought." Ron stated. "We think maybe a team bonding session might be in order. Make us all work together as a team better if we got to know each other a little better before practices even start."

Harry stood up after closing the chest and brushed off the grass from his front. "What did you have in mind?" He asked tentatively.

"You let us worry about that. We'll do our best to make sure we don't get in trouble for it." Ginny cut in before Ron could tell him.

"Erm. Is it against school rules?" He looked a little worried.

Ginny stepped up close to him and reached up to wipe the dirt off his cheek. "Only a little." She told him in a low voice. Ginny was worried she might be laying it on a little thick, but the idea that she might be in what is essentially a hot tub with him later that night, with a little fire whiskey to lower his inhibitions, was too good to pass up.

She saw him swallow hard while she finished wiping the dirt away. He looked down at her a little dazed as he nodded.

"Great." Ron said loudly. "After dinner. Meet us in the common room. We'll be back before curfew, don't worry about that." He tugged on Ginny's elbow to pull her away from him. "Gin, you have to go see about getting it all set up, remember?" He pushed her towards the school. "Thanks for the spot Harry!" Ron said over his shoulder as he walked in stride with Ginny.

"Alright, she's probably in the library. I'll grab my homework and join her and sus out her stance on it." Ginny told him as he nudged her every few steps.

()()

Hermione was, in fact, in the library. She was happy for the both of them for making the team, though she didn't really know much about Quidditch, nor care, but understood that they all found it vitally important to their sense of being.

"So." Ginny started off after they were on their way back to the library after lunch. She'd helped the two of them with their Charms assignment before lunch, and she and Ginny were headed back to work on Arithmancy. "The rules around here, they aren't really more than, like, don't be out after curfew. Right?"

"Yeah." Hermione shrugged. "And the usual, no fighting, no telling off the professors, that kind of thing."

"How do they feel about parties?"

"The professors and prefects know that they happen, but so long as it is low key, and there isn't any underage drinking, and they are back to their common rooms by curfew, it's fine. We all know that the celebrations after a Quidditch game can get a bit rowdy, but it's to be expected." She told her.

"What if, say, a new Quidditch team wanted to have a get together as part of a bonding thing and there was maybe a little underage drinking?" Ginny smiled at her in mock innocence.

Hermione gave her a tight smile back, but there was a twinkle in her eye. "How underage?"

"Fifteen? There are two younger on the team, but we wouldn't let them have any." She assured her.

"Any what?" Hermione asked to make sure.

"Fire Whiskey." Ginny told her quietly.

Hermione took a deep breath. "You probably just shouldn't be telling me where you are doing this."

"But we want you to come." They had reached the library now and found an empty table between the shelves.

"You do?" She asked surprised. "But it's a Quidditch thing. I don't know anything about Quidditch."

Ginny made sure that Hermione was paying direct attention to her next message. "Ron would like it if you would join us." Hermione blushed. "You do like him, don't you?"

"Did he ask you to ask me?" Hermione looked a little flustered.

"He conveyed to me that he would very much love it if you were there. He wants to hang out with you socially, not just in class and around a ton of other people. Or when there is homework as a distraction." Ginny lifted her parchment in gesture.

"I do like him." Hermione admitted softly.

Ginny smiled at her. "Good." Then she placed her hand on top of Hermione's. "And though I feel you and I are quite on our way to becoming good friends, I still have to tell you. You break his heart, I break your face." She tried to keep a serious look on her face as she said this. But Ginny knew that Hermione wouldn't ever be cruel to her brother.

Hermione was taken aback for a second, but saw the corner of Ginny's lip twitch, and broke out in a smile. "I will do my upmost. And same goes for you with Harry." She challenged her.

Ginny sighed. "I do like him very much. But I don't want him to think that it's just because of the fact that he's, well, Harry Potter. Or that it was only so I could get on the Quidditch team." She confessed to her.

"I don't think he thinks that. He really likes you too. It's obvious." Hermione confirmed and Ginny felt a warmth radiating up from her stomach to her cheeks. "He's only had a crush on one other girl. Oh, he'd probably kill me if he found out I was telling you this." She thought a moment and disregarded the worry. "It was superficial, and he moved on from it rather quickly. But you, I think that'd be a good match."

"Good. I'm glad you approve." Ginny told her honestly. "By the way. Is the password for the prefects bathroom still 'pine fresh'?" She tried to make the question as casual as possible.

"Yeah." Hermione replied before catching herself. "Wait. Why? How do you know that? Why do you want to know that?" There was a hint of panic in her voice.

Ginny looked proud of herself. "Same reason you need to either wear your swimming costume under your robes after dinner, or transfigure some. I can help you with that spell if you don't already know it."

Hermione looked stricken. "But. But. You want me to go swimming, with your brother, half naked."

"It's a swimming costume, not half naked." Ginny shrugged. "We'll all be in the water, it's no big deal."

"Harry's going to see you in a swimming costume too!" Hermione pointed out as though that would change Ginny's mind.

"I know." She waggled her eye brows at her. "And I'll get to see him half naked too."

()()()

After dinner time Ginny wrangled the girls, Ron wrangled the guys and they all left the Gryffindor Tower for the Hospital Tower where the prefect's bathroom was. There had been an embarrassing moment for a Hufflepuff prefect girl that had been stepping out of the showers with a towel wrapped around herself when the girls walked in. The Hufflepuff, Susan, got a little angry after the embarrassment faded away and started in on Hermione about abusing her privileges. But then the boys walked in and Ginny caught her look at Jimmy.

She jumped to use that to her advantage. "You can join us if you'd like." Ginny offered in a low voice. "I'm sure Jimmy would like to get to know you, and I can transfigure your clothes into a nice bathing suit really quickly."

Susan thought about it for a moment and then nodded. Ginny quickly made work of the bra and knickers that Susan had with her, and Susan went to change into them. Ginny's mother had taught her children all manner of household charms such as that one. It helped cut down on clothing costs when you could purchase clothes that your kids wouldn't fit into for a while, and the fitting charm would last all day. They were a fairly financially solvent family, but Molly Weasley was a proper house wife that cut corners like that to make the Galleons go a little farther.

The tub in the bathroom could probably have fit twelve people comfortably, so the nine of them had a good amount of wiggle room.

"Was this Ron's idea, or yours?" Harry asked her nervously when she'd finished with Susan and made her way over to him.

Ginny smiled at him. Everyone else started turning on the taps. "Mine. Ron was saying how he was going to be sore, and I quite agreed. Having us do laps was a good call though, some of those guys were woefully out of shape."

"Yeah, I could tell that right away. Got the idea from watching some football practices near my home over the summer. The first year's and students from other houses were a surprise too." He ruffled the hair at the back of his neck and looked over at the water filling up in the tub concerned. "How exactly did you get Hermione to agree to this?"

"Remember on the train how Ron said I always get my way?" She smiled teasingly and reached out to touch the hem of his robes. He took a half step towards her, Ginny let her smile fall to a smirk. "I may have tricked her into giving me the password." She shrugged. "Then had to talk her into joining us."

"And. And Susan?" He asked, casting another worried glance at the tub, which was now full, and the rest of the team was starting to get into.

"Talked her into it as well." She cocked her head. "Am I going to have to talk you into this also? You seem worried."

"I. Um. It's kind of embarrassing."

"What? Wearing a swimming costume in front of everyone?"

He blushed. "Well, a little that, but also… I, erm, never learned." He gestured to the water.

"Oh!" His concerned glances made sense now. "You don't know how to swim." She said softly so they wouldn't be overheard. He nodded. "Don't worry. It is shallow enough that you can stand, and we'll probably be against the side the whole time anyways." She assured him.

He gave her a grateful smile. "It's not pathetic is it?"

Ginny laughed a bit at that. "No, of course not. If you never learned to swim, then you never learned to swim." She shrugged. "Maybe we'll have to come back here one time with out the others and I can give you a lesson." She suggested.

"Yeah" He smiled. "That sounds-"

He cut off as Ginny pulled her top over her head and started shimmying her jeans down.

"Amazing." Harry finished as she stood before him in her two-piece. She hoped the warmth that she felt in her face was displaying as a soft glow, rather than a full-on blush. His eyes were raking all over her body and she was welcoming it. For a moment she forgot that there were seven other people in the water beside them.

"Your turn." She challenged him and took a step back to climb into the water. He'd said he found it slightly embarrassing to be half naked around everyone, so she didn't want to make him uncomfortable by watching him undress.

Everyone in the water was smiling and having a good time. Susan was talking to Jimmy, Demelza and Katie were talking with Ritchie, and Hermione and Ron looked to be carrying on a private conversation.

"Right. Were's the hooch Weasley?" Ginny hollered over to Ron. She felt Harry sink into the water behind her.

"Uh, over." He looked around. "Crap, over there with my robes." It was too far away for anybody to reach.

Ginny held out her hand and concentrated really hard. "Accio Firewhiskey." She said and it slowly flew over to her. "Perfect." She twisted off the cap and took a small sip. Then passed it over to Hermione, who took it from her.

"You can do wandless magic?" Hermione was astounded and passed the bottle on to Ron, not opting to have any herself.

"Only a summoning charm, and only if the object is just out of reach." Ginny told her and bared her wrist to the girl. "A rune." She explained. "My brother Bill taught me that a few years ago. A lot of the stuff around our house is just out of reach. I got tired of either pulling over a chair, or having to go in the other room to get my wand. Not all of us are six foot something." She nodded in Ron's direction. He smiled mockingly at her and passed the bottle on to Jimmy.

"That's still really impressive." Harry said behind her. She turned around and couldn't stop her eyes from training down his torso. He had a nice frame, and what she considered to be a perfect amount of chest hair. It was spread across his chest and down to his belly button in a 'V' formation before continuing down into his swim trunks. She managed to pull her eyes up to meet his.

"Thanks."

They heard Hermione tell Demelza to pass the bottle on to Katie, and for Ritchie not to touch it either. The two of them chuckled at the protesting from the two younger teammates. Harry was passed the bottle and took a big swig. He coughed the whisky down and passed it on to her before he could answer. She reached out and rubbed his back. "Thanks." He managed.

Ginny took another sip and passed the bottle back to Hermione. "Not a big drinker then?" She winked at him. He flushed. "Don't worry. Us Weasley's are pretty good at holding our own, but we don't really drink unless the occasion calls for it. Ron just had a few bottles given to him as an early birthday gift. We hoped we'd get to crack on open to celebrate joining the team."

The exchanges around the tub grew and developed. Everyone joked and told stories, it was a great time. Jimmy wound up kissing Susan, and she'd thanked Hermione and Ginny before she left for Hufflepuff with a big smile on her face as things were wrapping up.

They Gryffindors headed back to the tower with time to spare before curfew and Ginny had hoped that Harry might have asked her to hang back by the fireplace with him, but Ron asked Hermione to first so she wanted to give them some privacy.

They walked up the stairs together until the point that they had to go separate ways. "Thanks. Um, for tonight. It was a really good suggestion." Harry told her swaying slightly. The fire whiskey had clearly had an effect on him.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." She leaned closer to him.

He swallowed. "Yeah." He was staring at her lips. "Well… goodnight." He said abruptly and turned to head up to his dorm.

Ginny stood there in shock for a moment. What the hell? It had seemed like he wanted to kiss her. She wanted him to kiss her, then he bolts? Her head was a little fuzzy from the drinking, but she wasn't drunk enough to have said something to scare him off and not remember it.

Looking down into the common room from where she was, she saw Ron kiss Hermione. At least one Weasley got what they wanted tonight. She shook her head and went up to her dorm feeling a little dejected.

**AN- This story will continue. I know I've been posting a lot of One-Shots lately, this is not one of them.**


	3. Common Room

**Chapter 3- Common Room**

"Shannon Matthews and Adrien Pucey, and lastly Derrick Belanger and Erin Clark were all given two detentions and docked twenty house points each for being 'out after curfew'." Sinstra wrapped up, using the term 'out after curfew' instead of saying the students were caught shagging or snogging somewhere. It didn't take the any new professors more than a few staff meetings, where each of them had to give reasons for the students receiving detentions, to find that it was no longer funny to tell the true story of just what the hormonal teenagers they were surrounded with were getting up to. Or where.

At the end of every month the indiscretions of the students were listed off and recorded, and any pertinent information shared and grievances aired. All of the professors generally zoned out as they went through this process until it was their turn. It was tedious but needed to be done in case one of the students caused trouble about it, or worse, a parent had something to say about the discipline.

"Wonderful." Albus Dumbledore clapped his hands together once. "If that is all." He looked around the table, giving the chance for any one of his staff to bring something else up. "Then you all may get back to your evenings." He nodded to Severus, indicating that he would like to speak to him one on one.

The room quickly emptied until it was just the two of them. "These meetings are making me miss the days that you were in attendance as a student." Albus sighed as the last leaving staff member closed the door behind them. "You may not have enjoyed it, but you have to admit, at least those Marauders had interesting ways of getting in trouble."

Severus did little more than a quick sneer at that. He had now grown accustomed to working alongside one of those Marauders that were the bane of his existence while he was a student but felt no need to 'reminisce' about their antics as they usually involved harassing him. Remus Lupin had apologized and had voiced how grateful he was he'd been brewing the Wolfsbane potion for him every month. But that was a deep wound that Severus did not want to acknowledge.

"Now, the reason I asked you to stay behind." Albus moved on. "Have you heard anything from your former... contacts lately?"

Severus' eyebrows went up slightly, clearly not expecting this question. "I have not." He looked at the older man carefully. "Have you heard something that makes you think I would have?" It had been five years since they'd last encountered what was left of Tom Riddle.

Albus shook his head. "I still do not suspect that he is gone entirely, but I must say, I had imagined having young Mr. Potter here at the school that there would be more conflict about him than there has been."

"You find it suspicious that he is not being attacked at every turn?" Severus asked skeptically.

Albus sighed and shook his head. "I am not sure what exactly I expected to happen. Of course, I am glad to see that he is having a rather normal experience here."

"The plan is still to tell him when he is of age?"

He nodded. "There seems to be no need to worry him yet. Let him enjoy one more year without this burden."

"And yet, I know you have tested him." Severus said, more as a challenge for the older man to refute it.

His eyes lost a bit of their twinkle at that. "I did." He admitted. "I made a grave mistake with Tom Riddle, I did not want to do the same with Harry Potter."

"I suspected as much."

"The little interest he showed in the Philosophers Stone, besides worrying about how well it was protected, was proof enough." Albus told him. He had been pleased that Harry didn't try to go after the stone. The set of challenges to get to it had been easy enough for a first year to figure out.

Once the alarm around the ward in the room with the Mirror of Erised had triggered it had saddened him greatly to think that young Harry had tried to go after it. But to discover that it was actually one of his own staff that had been trying to get it for Voldemort, that had shocked him immensely. He hadn't told any of the others about what was under Quirinus' turban, none but Severus. As only Severus had known that the stone had not been in anyone's possession but the Flammel's the whole time.

"Tell me." The Headmaster moved on. "How does he seem to be faring to you?"

Severus couldn't resist rolling his eyes. "While he is not the brightest student of his year, he is adequate at Potions." He said begrudgingly. "It is nice to see that he does not seem to have inherited his fathers pompous attitude."

"That attitude you remember may be hampered by some ill experiences on your part." Albus pointed out.

"Either way." Severus continued. "He seems to have his fathers taste in women however." He did sneer now. "If he doesn't stop spending so much time staring at the Weasley girl he will most certainly be blowing something up shortly for his lack of attention."

"Ah." Albus smiled. "Young love."

"Call it what you will. He is no different than any other teenage male in his year. Driven by hormones. You really expect him to be able to rise to the challenge? He hasn't shown any special skills that indicate it."

"I believe he has been extremely lucky in that regard. And he has surrounded himself with strong individuals-"

"You call Neville Longbottom a strong individual?" He couldn't resist cutting in.

"While mister Longbottom may be come across as meek, he has stood up against bullying among the younger years."

"How fortunate then that Death Eaters and the like happen to be younger then." Severus mocked.

"He is a good person." Albus stood his ground. "Miss Granger has also proved to be a good person, and the new Weasley siblings are too. You remember that two of their siblings were Head Boy's, and both Percy and Bill did a wonderful job in that post."

"Fine." He felt no need to lengthen this argument at all. Potter had surrounded himself with 'nice' friends, and he was in no way gathering followers. But it was hard to see how this boy could possibly be the one to defeat Lord Voldemort completely as the prophecy foretold.

"I see you are done with this conversation. I won't keep you any longer."

"Thank you. If I do hear anything, you know I will inform you."

()()()

It had been a month now that they'd been back at school. And he'd never felt more like a nervous coward in his life.

School was going fine, his friends were as great as ever, and Quidditch had been coming along brilliantly. The team was all completely working in sync, and he was sure that they'd be winning all of their games if the practices were any indication.

But he could not bring himself to ask out Ginny.

There had been so many opportunities as well.

Hogsmead weekend was coming up, she had offered to teach him how to swim, and there had been so many little pauses after their conversations that would have been the perfect chance to ask.

But he would choke up.

Neville was starting to tease him about it, and Hermione would give him these annoying 'knowing' looks. But Ginny was just so great, and pretty and funny. The thought that she might say 'no' or give him this pitying look that would just ruin their friendship irrevocably. He didn't want to chance it.

But he did want to chance it. If someone else asked her, and she said 'yes' he'd be crushed.

If only so he could get it over with and stop looking like an idiot in front of her. He'd been knocking things over, spilling food down his front, dropping things, basically just looking like a bumbling fool from his nerves. And she'd been so nice about it every time he stumbled over his words because she was looking at him with bright eyes and her amazing smile, never once taking the mickey.

Right now it was late, and he was sitting in the common room, sore and quite exhausted from the Quidditch practice earlier. But there was homework on the coffee table in front of him that needed to get done, and Hermione had been too pre-occupied with Ron for him to ask her for help. He really wanted to try to do that less this year as well. It would be nice to know how well he could do on his own merit.

"Harry?" came a sweet voice from the staircase behind him. "What are you still doing up?"

He turned his head and saw the girl he'd been obsessing over. "Erm, I was comfortable here, not tired yet." He offered weakly. It was going on eleven at night and Harry had been sitting on the floor with his back against the couch. The common room had slowly emptied of other students until he was the last one.

"Why are you coming down so late?" Ginny was dressed in her pajamas, which were a thin pair of shorts that stopped well above her knees and a fitted t-shirt. He praised whatever gods there were that she at least seemed to be wearing a bra underneath. Her hair was in a high ponytail on her head, and he thought she looked adorable. Like he should crawl right into bed with her, fall asleep and just spoon her all night.

It had been extra hard not to kiss her the night after the team bonding in the Prefect's Bathroom. He'd never really had a drink before, except for Butterbeer, and that didn't count. He had been all warm from the fire whiskey, and the evening had been excellent. He'd thought that maybe she wanted him to kiss her good night, but he was drunk, and after seeing her all evening in a bikini he was in desperate need of a wank.

Ginny came over and plopped down on the floor beside him. "I actually came down here to stretch a bit. There isn't enough room in my dorm, and the girls are all sleeping, so I wouldn't want to chance waking them."

"Stretch?" He asked, swallowing. He could only imagine the reaction 'little Harry' would have seeing that. Sure enough she brought her legs out in front of her in a 'V' formation and bent her self at the hips, reaching forward and bringing her torso to the floor.

"Yeah. I'm a bit sore. You see I have this really tyrannical Quidditch Captain that really put his team through the paces. I suspect he may be trying to prove himself." She teased him and turned her head to face him with a smile a sticking her tongue out at him a little.

Harry grabbed the back of his neck and ruffled his hair. She chuckled softly. "Yeah, sorry. First game is against Slytherin, and well. Most of the team is new. The Gryffindor/Slytherin game is an important one."

"Well tell that to my calf muscles. I think you owe me something for today's practice." She said raising her torso up and bringing her legs together, bending one of them up to twist her back and rest her opposite elbow on.

Harry smiled back. "Well you did do a really great job today. What would you like?" Her flirting always put him in a good mood.

"So glad you asked." She released herself from her position and came over to sit right beside him and draped one of her legs over his lap. "Take the pain away, Potter."

Harry's face slackened at that. She wanted him to touch her? Please say your arms, back and thighs are sore too! "I, um. I guess I could do that."

She bit her lip and smiled at him. "Mmm." She hummed as he started rubbing the underside of her calf. She lay her head on the couch cushion contently. "You are a very good captain by the way. Not actually a tyrant. I can see you're passionate about it. Oh, that feels good." She moaned.

Little Harry was now getting quite interested in this situation, and not liking the restrictive jeans Harry was wearing. His head though was actually grateful for the restrictive clothing, less chance that Ginny would notice. "Thanks." He shifted a bit uncomfortably.

"Does your back hurt?" She asked him.

He shook his head. "Bit stiff. Been working on my assignments all night like this. And practice from earlier." The shift had actually been to try and relieve some pressure on his groin.

Ginny pulled her leg out of his grasp. "I know just the thing." He wanted to protest so he could keep touching her, but then she stood up and sat on the couch behind him and put her legs on either side. "Pull your jumper off."

"Wha-what?" He asked flustered.

"Pull your jumper off." She repeated in that casual way that was the reason for his confusion of their relationship. "I'll give you a little rub down as well."

His mouth went dry. He didn't trust his voice to try and waive off the suggestion, but she was offering to touch him. He couldn't pass that up. He did as she said and she instantly started working away at his shoulders and he couldn't help all the groans that she was eliciting from him.

"My god your hard." She said as she worked.

Harry's eyes flew open at that, he hadn't even realized he'd shut them. It quickly dawned on him that she meant his muscles were hard and relaxed slightly, thoroughly enjoying her hands on him.

"When was the last time you stretched, or got a back rub?" She asked.

"Erm, I've never really done stretches, and I've never had a back rub." Harry managed to say before he groaned again as she worked her thumbs in circles down the side of his spine.

"What? Never? Then I'll just have to make this one extra good." She almost whispered to him. He moaned at that, and hoped she thought it was because of what her hands were doing, not because he was heavily aroused.

He knew he should try and think up some seriously un-erotic shit to try and calm himself down, but her hands felt so good that it was all he could focus on. And wondering if she'd let him return the favor.

"Hey Harry?" She asked after about five solid minutes of working on him.

"Yeah?" He managed, completely zoned out.

"Are you ever going to ask me out?"

His zen state was completely abandoned at that and he turned around on the floor to look at her. "What?! You. I. Really?" He wanted to make sure she was being serious, though why she would joke about that he didn't know.

She looked a little alarmed at his reaction. "If I was reading that wrong.."

"No! I just wasn't sure if you wanted me to. I've wanted to since I first saw you. But with you being new, and then that story about your bed time stories, and being just so... you, I didn't know if you'd be interested." He rambled.

"Harry." She smiled and raised an eyebrow. "I came up to you at Kings Cross because I thought you were cute. I liked you before I found out you were the guy from my bed time stories as a child." She lowered herself to the floor in front of him so their faces were inches away from each other. "I would have brought this up sooner, but I didn't want you to think I was just another fan girl."

He wanted to kiss her. It seemed like the right moment. But he was crap with girls. His eyes kept darting down to her lips and back up to her eyes. He leaned forward slightly and felt a burst of joy in his chest when she came the rest of the way to make their lips finally join together.

Kissing her was like being transported to a dream world. Her lips felt perfect against his, exactly the way he'd hoped they would. The dance their mouths played against each other was so natural, and it was making his brain fuzzy. She pulled back and her hands gripped his shirt.

"Come on." She hoisted herself back up onto the couch and he essentially crawled up her body to find her lips again before he settled on the couch beside her. She pulled him closer to her as she sunk down on the couch so they were laying down.

He used one arm for support so he didn't crush her and the other was firmly staked out at her waist. He had always wondered how snogging couples just knew how to move their heads so they didn't bump noses, and now he understood. They were like waves crashing against a beach with their movements, two concentric movements, shift the other way, repeat. It was by far the best feeling he'd ever felt, and he didn't want it to stop.

Harry also wanted to make sure that she didn't find out how very close to cumming in his pants he was with how close their lower halves were. But her determined hands were still massaging him. One was still roaming as it worked the muscles on his back, and the other. Oh! The other was massaging his scalp and making him thrust into the couch cushion as his lidded eyes rolled back in his head.

"We have to stop." He panted with difficulty after what felt like an eternity of being wrapped up in each other. As he opened his eyes he saw she looked suitably ravished. Her lips were so full from being snogged, and he coloring on her face reminded him of how she looked after getting off her broom. All windswept and satisfied.

"What?" She asked. She blinked up at him with unseeing eyes at first. "Why?" She swallowed.

"I'm, um. It's just that." How was he supposed to tell her he was so close to messing in his pants? That can't be something that a girl wants to hear. He shifted his lower half a little and saw some realization dawn on her eyes, then she flushed a little more.

"Oh." She smiled.

He lowered his face into the crook of her neck. "Sorry."

"I think it would be worse if I didn't get that kind of response from you." She chuckled and stroked the side of his face gently.

He raised his head to meet her eyes. "You're not, like, disgusted or anything?" He asked, ashamed.

She laughed outright at that. "No, of course not. You remember I was raised around six boys right? I know more about male anatomy than most girls my age would care too. The number of stories I've heard that I can't un-hear from my brothers." She shivered jokingly. "I'm quite pleased I can get you that worked up." She admitted coyly.

They smiled at each other. "So, will you go to Hogsmeade with me?" He asked.

"I'd love to." She replied. She tilted her head toward him for a kiss. "Will you go to breakfast with me tomorrow?"

"I'd love to.' He laughed and gave her another kiss as well. "How about all our shared classes?"

"Sure. How about we find a nice cozy alcove tomorrow evening?" She stuck her tongue between her teeth a bit and waggled her eyebrows at him.

"Definitely." He breathed out the answer. She raised her head forward and kissed him again.

"By the way." She smiled pulling back. "You are a very good kisser."

"Really?" Harry knew his eyes lit up at that. "I've never actually." He stopped himself. Most sixteen-year-olds had kissed at least one person before, right? He hadn't even kissed his Yule Ball partner. She'd run off with some boy from Beaubaton because Harry wasn't keen on dancing.

"What? Gotten feedback, or kissed before?" She asked him.

"Erm, kissed before." He blushed.

She ran both her hands through his hair and his eye's closed at the sensation. "Me either."

His eyes flew open. "You haven't?" How could that be possible? She was beautiful, and confident, didn't that mean she would have had plenty of opportunities? He couldn't possibly be the only guy that wanted her this way. Even Malfoy had tried to hit on her the first day on the train.

"No." She laughed lightly. "Home schooled. Remember?"

"Oh, right." He was actually glad of that. It meant that he and she were on the same level, experience wise. They could discover what they liked together. He trailed his eyes down her body.

"What?" She asked.

"Just, I've been trying not to look at you as much as I've wanted to in case you thought I was being a little creepy. I'm just enjoying the view." He blushed.

She giggled at him. "I like when you look at me. I quite enjoy looking at you too."

**AN-** **It'll get more story oriented later. I promise. I just love the beginnings of relationships when everything is all new and exciting, and nervous.**


	4. Morning After

**Reason to not post two stories at the same time, there are too many chapters sitting in my document manager, and I might accidentally post the wrong one. **

**Thank you Stephanie O and meyers1020 for pointing it out. I feel like an idiot.**

**()()()**

Ginny cracked her eye open and looked up at the light that was shining through a crack in the curtains hanging around the four-poster bed and wondered when she'd even stumbled into it. Her head was pounding and her stomach was rolling. The nausea definitely needed to be dealt with right away before she threw up all over herself.

Ginny wasn't entirely sure she could follow the events of the previous night. They had won their Quidditch game against Slytherin. She knew that much. There was a big celebration in the Gryffindor common room, she knew that too. Everything after that was pretty fuzzy.

The only other time she'd gotten this drunk was the first time she'd ever gotten drunk. Charlie had just returned from Romania with a little Kenneth bundle in his arms. While the sleeping baby was passed around the whole clan had gathered to hear Charlie's story of how the mother, Alina, had failed to tell Charlie about how their one night had resulted in the little boy until right before she gave birth. And now she wanted nothing to do with either of them. Kenneth's red hair was a clear indicator of his paternity and the whole family had been in a bit of shock. The Elven Wine had been poured all around. There were a lot of tears, and a lot of different types of liquor to follow. The next morning she'd awoken to a screaming baby very close to her head as she'd passed out on the couch by the bassinet.

Sirius Black had actually brought her a vial of hang over potion. Her mum had thought enough to have them ready on the counter for the morning.

That dog was a genius.

If only he was here now.

The light was hitting her directly in her eye and she couldn't muster the strength or coordination to move, or close the hanging tighter. Moaning was her only ability at that point.

The loudest, most god awful noise followed her moan as the hanging on the other side of her screeched open. "Hey Ginny." Whispered a boys voice that she couldn't quite place.

The horror that she may have done something unforgivable last night gave her the determination to roll over and find out who it was that was talking to her. She made out the shape of Neville and let out a sigh of relief that she regretted. As the sigh came up her throat, so did whatever she consumed last night. She regurgitated all over the floor by Neville's feet, thankfully he backed up when she did.

He carefully stepped around it and climbed half on the bed to hold back her hair. "Let it all out." He soothed rubbing her back through the sheet wrapped around her.

Upchucking had made her feel loads better. Ginny looked up and around. They were in the sixth-year boys dormitory, and this was Harry's bed. She'd been here several times before now. She'd even taken naps with Harry in this bed before. Sometimes actual naps, and sometimes not. But where was Harry?

Neville must have judged that she was done and went over to his bed to grab his wand. He banished all the sick from the floor and gone across the room to their powder room and got her a cool wash cloth for her face. "Feeling a bit better?" He asked as she moaned again laying against the pillows.

"What happened?" She managed to get out.

"What happened is you scored ten points against Slytherin and decided that meant you needed to take ten shots. In a row." He chuckled under his breath. "You then dragged Harry up here and passed out not too much later."

Yep. That about covered it. She remembered flashes of red and gold, shot glasses, skin on skin, and emerald eyes. "Where's Harry?"

"Pretty sure he went to see about getting you some hang over potion." Neville assured her. "You think you're done with the vomiting for now?"

She could hear the smile in his voice. Her eyes weren't cooperating with checking on that or not. "Yes." Her voice was the safer choice than nodding at the moment.

The sound of a door opening and closing had her praying that it was Harry with her cure. "Uh, hey Neville." She heard Harry's voice say unsure. "What's up. Is she okay?"

"Yeah." Neville replied. "She was just sick on the floor. Cleaned it up and wiped her face."

"Uhuh. Thanks. And, erm. The bed sheets didn't ride down, did they?"

Why was he worried about bed sheets? Ginny wondered. Why was he not sounding happy about Neville helping her out? They were friends. He'd been super nice. Most people would bail at the sight of someone being sick like that. She wiggled a bit and realized that she could perfectly feet the sheets against her skin, because she wasn't wearing anything above her waist.

"No! I swear, they didn't. She just moaned, and was sick over the side of the bed. I didn't see anything!" Neville said quickly. And too loudly. Ginny moaned again. "I'll, just leave you to it." He whispered.

She felt the shifting of someone getting off the bed to be replaced by someone else. "You're going to have to try to keep this down." Harry told her. She felt something cool touch her lips gently. Slowly she opened her mouth to sip it down little by little. He was giving her soft encouragement until she finished taking down the potion.

There was the sound of something being placed on the bedside table, and the mattress moved an annoying amount before she felt his body right beside her. She hoped he wouldn't try talking to her, or even touching her much right now. The potion took a few minutes to kick in, and until then any sort of jostling was complete torture.

He remained mercifully silent.

Harry was truly wonderful.

She'd joked a few times that he was pure evil with his practices, but really he wasn't, it was all dependent on the weather.

They'd been together now for over a month, and in that time they'd had a lot of fun slipping off to snog. She'd taken him back to the prefect's bathroom to give impromptu swimming lessons, that ended in them snogging. They'd done a Hogsmeade trip together where he suffered through meeting Fred and George. He'd wisely taken her advice about not accepting anything they offered him because it may turn him into a Canary, and they'd finished the day snogging.

He'd really developed some skills in the snogging department. Their first kiss in the common room was pants compared to how hot he was making her in the broom cupboards now. His hands had begun to wander, and she was eager for them to continue. That must have been what led to her being topless, and, she shifted her legs around slightly, only in her knickers it would seem.

She remembered skin on skin from last night. She couldn't remember how far they'd gone. Her head was clearing up now though, she didn't think she was going to be sick again. Her stomach wasn't gurgling any more.

"Harry." She whispered. Whispering was good. It didn't hurt her head.

"Yeah." He whispered back.

"What happened?"

He chuckled a bit. "Well Miss Weasley." Oh, he was going to use his teasing voice. "After you pounded several shots and crowned yourself the Queen of Quidditch, you tried to start a dance party, and when that didn't work you poured some whiskey down my throat and dragged me up here to ravish me." He said softly. She could hear the humor in his voice.

"And exactly how much ravishing took place?" Ginny was worried about the answer. Not because she didn't want to do more things with Harry than what they'd been doing, but because she wanted to remember it all.

Harry put an arm behind her head and she rolled on her side to cuddle into him. She had the bed sheets tucked around her fairly tightly just under her arm pits. The movement didn't cause her any strife, the potion had almost completely worked its magic, but she still didn't want to open her eyes.

"Well. You. Erm, I." He couldn't seem to find the words.

"We didn't shag." She hadn't meant to say that out loud. That much had been obvious by the fact that she was still wearing her knickers, and she wasn't sore down there.

"No."

"Then why are you having trouble telling me? Did I do something embarrassing?"

"No. It was really hot actually." She could basically hear him biting his lip.

"Please don't make me pry it out of you." She whined and buried her head into his chest.

"You kind of - stripped for me."

"Kind of?" She tried to remember it happening.

She felt his hips shift a bit followed by a sigh then started in a strained voice. "You said I had been so super amazing that I deserved a treat, then you slowly stripped down to your knickers and pushed me into bed. We snogged for a bit, you took off my shirt, stuck your hand." He paused to clear his throat. "Stuck your hand down my trousers and almost immediately passed out."

"Did." She didn't know how to form this question. She had never stuck her hand down his trousers before. "Did I get you to…"

"Uh, no. You literally fell asleep as soon as your hand went in there. Uh. Over the boxers."

She sighed in relief. Properly touching him for the first time was something she wanted to be cognitive for. "That's good." He squirmed a bit more beside her. The potion was properly kicked in now and she felt normal. A little hungry actually. "Is my wand up here?"

"Oh. Yeah." He pulled back the curtain and grabbed it from his night stand. Ginny cast a freshening charm on herself. That worked almost as well as the hang over potion. Her mouth had felt disgusting.

"How are you feeling this morning?" She asked him.

"I'm fine. Wasn't as drunk as you, but I also took some hang over potion and already had a shower."

She could smell the soap on him now with out gagging. "Where is everyone else? Your dorm mates?"

"Erm, it's actually about lunch time."

Ginny smiled. "Thank you for letting me sleep this long." She kissed his chest and waved her wand to close the curtains around them before casting a silencing spell.

"Did you want some more sleep?" He asked her confused.

"Actually." She drew herself up on her elbows and loosened the bed sheet around her so she could slide over top of him, throwing one leg over him. She'd been forcing the confidence when she first got to Hogwarts, trying to carry on with everyone how she'd carried on with her brothers at home. But she'd actually been completely nervous. But now. After being with Harry. The confidence when it came to the two of them wasn't quite so forced. He just made her feel so desired. "You've been so super amazing that I think you deserve a treat." She whispered as she rocked against him. He rocked back against her and groaned.

"That wasn't just Drunk Ginny then last night?" He breathed out the question.

"Drunk Ginny is just a little more forward than Sober Ginny." She whispered as she kissed up his neck and jaw line. She'd slept beside him topless all night, and was feeling shameless. She sat up on him and pushed the sheet away completely. His eyes went wide and dark with lust as his hands went to her hips to help set the pace that she was grinding into him.

His hands moved up to touch her breasts and she let her head fall back at the sensations he was evoking. He sat up and buried his head in her chest and she loved it. He was massaging and kissing her. He sucked on one of her nipples and she started rocking more desperately into him. She'd wanted their rendezvous to get a little more carnal for a while, and this was exactly what she wanted.

He didn't seem capable of tearing himself away from her breasts. It felt amazing, and she loved how he seemed to desire her as much as she did him, but if they continued like this there was a chance he was going to cum in his pants. Drunk Ginny had stuck her hand down his trousers, and damn it, Sober Ginny was going to see that action through.

She reached down for the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. She ran her fingers through his hair and felt a jolt of desire down to her core with the awe-struck look he was giving her. She leaned down to devour his lips as she pushed him back against the mattress. His hands were roaming all over her back and sides, down to her bum.

She moaned and rocked against him one last time before shifting herself off him to lay beside him instead. He moaned in protest at the loss of warmth, but she smiled against his mouth. He moved to roll over and she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. She didn't stop kissing him as her hand trailed down his torso. She popped the button on his trousers open and slowly pulled down the zipper. She wanted to give him an opportunity to stop her, he didn't seem inclined to do that.

He shivered as her fingers ran along the elastic of his boxer's waist band, then she dipped her hand under and gently wrapped her fingers around his erection. He groaned against her mouth heartily. She carefully stroked him up and down. He pulled away from her mouth and leaned his head back at her ministrations. She didn't know if she was doing it right, or if there was another way, but he was definitely enjoying it.

He thrust into her hand and pushed his trousers and boxers down lower so she could have more range of motion. She licked her lips as she took in the sight of him. Harry, it seemed, was well past the point of attempting modesty with his arousal. He wrapped one of his hands around hers and showed her how to set the pace he wanted. His erratic breathing made her think he might be close. It wasn't much longer before she watched as his balls disappeared seemingly up into him before he arched his back and cum shot out of him.

His hand guided her to keep stroking him gently until he was properly sated. It was fascinating to watch his erection subside. Slowly she pulled her hand away, and with her other one she cast a cleaning charm.

Harry looked thoroughly relaxed, and he had a satisfied smile on his face. Ginny grinned at that and then tucked in beside him. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead before she pulled the sheets around them and they fell asleep again.

()()()()()()

Ginny looked down at her fingers. Her hand was covered in ink from trying to finish all of her assignments yesterday after she woke up from her nap in Harry's bed.

Her stomach had finally demanded she get out of the bed and feed herself otherwise she would have stayed there for days.

Thankfully she'd had a quick shower before heading to the kitchens, then on to the library. Hermione had already been situated at her usual station and gave Ginny a stern look before giggling along with her. Hermione had actually been the one to brew the hangover potion, and Ginny promised her something good for Christmas.

But now she couldn't help noticing the horrible state of her nails. She looked over to where Hermione was sitting ahead of her in DADA class. Her nails looked better. Lavender and Parvati were across the aisle from her and Harry's desk. Theirs were fantastic.

"Ginny?" Lavender got her attention. Apparently she'd been making a face while staring intently at Lavender's fingers, and the girl had noticed.

"Sorry!" Ginny laughed. "Off in dreamland." She bit her lip a second. She was never one to put a lot of time into the small details of her appearance, her hair yes, her nails, no. Eyebrows, sometimes, shaving her legs, regularly. But all the little things she noticed Lavender and Parvati doing, like tinting, and hair clips, mascara and the like, she didn't really know where to start. Harry didn't seem to mind though. "Erm, Lavender? Do you have a spell for that?" She indicated to her perfectly filed and polished finger tips. "Or do you do it manually?"

Lavender grinned at her. "Manually. I have a manicure kit if your free tonight." Lavenders eyes lit up.

Parvati leaned over excited too. "Oh! Girls night! You can tell us all about what happened to you on Saturday night!" Parvati winked at her.

"Urgh. Don't remind me. Thank God for Harry and Hermione! Neville too actually. I was in rough shape the next morning." Ginny chuckled.

"Never had anyone as cute as Harry to hand deliver you hang over potion, eh?" Lavender waggled her eyebrows at her, grinning ear to ear.

Ginny pretended to think really hard about it. "I don't know. Sirius Black was pretty darn cute when he did it." She teased Harry, knowing he was listening in.

"What was that?"

Ginny jumped at the sudden voice behind her and turned to see Professor Lupin. He looked startled.

"He's her dog." Harry clarified hurriedly. "Ginny has a weird sense of humor."

"Sorry!" Ginny she smiled. "I keep forgetting not everyone knows that's what I named him." She looked sheepish.

"Why would you name your dog that?" The professor looked angry.

"Because he too is a murderer." Ron chimed in under his breath.

"Shut it Ron. You hated that rat, and he was looking about ready to die anyways." Ginny told him off.

"You have a dog named Sirius Black and he killed your pet rat?" The professor repeated with an almost vacant look on his face.

"Yeah." Ginny said slowly. He was talking so seriously about something so ridiculous.

"How long did you have these pets for?"

Ginny exchanged a look with Ron before he answered. "Uh. The rat for about ten or twelve years, and the dog we've had for about three."

"You got the dog three years ago and he killed your pet rat right away." It wasn't a question. He was getting paler by the minute.

"Um, professor, are you okay?" Ginny asked him.

"No. Harry, can you teach everyone how to do the Patronus Charm please. I may be back." He was appearing completely lost in thought. "Everyone, pay attention to Harry. Two feet on the Patronus charm will be due next week." He stated absently before he turned and almost ran out the door.

"That was super weird." Ginny said out loud. She turned to Harry. "Why would he be so concerned about our pets?"

Harry didn't answer her right away. He exchanged a look with Hermione that spoke volumes. "I'll talk to you about it later." He whispered before rising from his seat and going to the front of the class to begin instruction and demonstrating the Patronus.

()()()()()()()()()

"Sirius Black was friends with Professor Lupin?" Ron was shocked.

They'd all finished up with classes for the day and finally got the opportunity to sit down in the common room to talk about what had happened in DADA.

"Didn't you say that Lupin was good friends with your parents too?" Ginny asked Harry.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"So then…" Ron trailed off.

Ginny scooched in closer to Harry on the couch. She rested her head on his shoulder and tried to bring him some comfort. "Why was he so interested in Scabbers though?" She wondered aloud.

"Scabbers?" Hermione asked.

"My rat." Ron explained. "Was he though? He was more interested in your dogs name."

"No. When I mentioned he killed the rat, Lupin almost stopped breathing. It was like something clicked for him. Then he sounded even more panicked."

"Maybe I should go talk to him." Harry said.

"I don't think he's here." Hermione shook her head, concerned.

"He and Dumbledore were missing at dinner." Ron stated.

Ginny saw Lavender and Parvati come in through the portrait hole and waved her over. She waved back in acknowledgment.

"Alright. Let's put a pin in this, we can only speculate right now. If he's probably gone tonight, perhaps we can track him down tomorrow. For now, though, Hermione, you and I have an appointment upstairs." She tilted her head back and gave Harry a kiss under his ear. "You did an excellent job teaching us today." She whispered to him. "Professor Potter." She purred and was rewarded with the sight of goosebumps appearing on his arm.

Ginny quickly stood up and headed towards the girls dorms with her dorm mates before he could try to kiss her back.

()()()()()()()()()

"I realize this seems an odd request, but we were wondering where your dog might be." Albus Dumbledore and Remus Lupin stood in the sitting room of the Burrow with an utterly confused Arthur and Molly Weasley.

"I think he's outside chasing down some game or something." Molly replied puzzled.

"Why do you want to know about our dog?" Arthur asked him.

"It may be nothing, it may be something." Dumbledore told them calmly.

Remus' shoulders sagged and he shook his head. "This is ridiculous. It has to be a coincidence." He said quietly to Albus.

"What is a coincidence?" Molly asked him kindly.

"You wouldn't have brought it to my attention if you truly thought that." Dumbledore told the man before turning back to the Weasley's. "If you would just entertain us a little longer. Is there any chance that you happened to have buried Ronald's pet rat a few years back?"

Arthur and Molly exchanged a look. "He's buried in a box out by my shed." Arthur replied curiously, giving them both a look as though their sanity was questionable.

Dumbledore nodded. "Mind if we dig him up and check something?" Remus smiled feebly, as though attempting to make Albus' request seem less outrageous.

Molly Weasley headed into the kitchen to brew up some tea while the men headed out to the shed. The sun hadn't yet set over the hill as they marched to the small out building. "He was somewhere around here." Arthur pointed to the overgrown weeds beside the length of the building.

Dumbledore performed a small tracing spell and located where the box would be. Arthur grabbed a shovel and started digging. It only took a few moments to find the box, which was rather decomposed after three years.

Remus took the box from him and laid it down on the ground opening the lid. The small body of the rat inside was quite withered away, but it hadn't been desecrated by other animals. He looked up at Dumbledore. In a moment he would know if the last fifteen years of his life had been a lie. He almost didn't want the spell to be performed to turn this rat into what might have been his departed friend.

He stepped away from the box and Dumbledore cast the spell. Remus, and Arthur, watched in horror as the body of the rat transfigured into that of Peter Pettigrew.

The silence was palpable as the three men stood over the decaying body.

One of the amazing things about becoming an Animagus was how the clothes shifted shape with the wizard. Peter was still wearing the tan suit jacket and slacks he had been that day in November fifteen years-ago when everyone thought he'd been blown to smithereens.

Dumbledore gently pulled up the sleeve on his right arm and there it was. The dark mark. Remus crumbled.

Arthur turned to Dumbledore. "Do you mean to tell me that this man, this Death Eater, was living in my house for over a decade in hiding? Who is he?"

"Peter Pettigrew." Dumbledore answered softly.

"Peter Pettigrew?" Arthur blinked owlishly. "But. Sirius Black killed him."

"It would appear that he did in fact kill him. Just not when everyone assumed he did." Dumbledore corrected him.

"No." Arthur was confused. "The dog killed him." Arthur then leaned forward slightly, as though he might fall over. His face went white, then puce. "Oh Merlin."

Remus was sitting on the ground with his back up against the shed. His palms were pressed up against his eyes with his elbows resting on his knees. "Peter was the secret keeper. Not Sirius." He sobbed. "Peter betrayed James and Lily, and Sirius must have gone to confront him when Peter killed all those Muggles before transforming into his Animagus."

Arthur fell to the ground on his hands and knees. "How did he know? How could Sirius Black have known that he was here?"

"Very good question." Dumbledore pondered. "Do you remember anything you were doing when he escaped?"

Arthur groaned and rocked back and forth a bit. "We. We weren't even in the country. We had just come back from Egypt and it was all over the news."

"I remember that." Remus said. "There was a photograph of your whole family in the Daily Prophet."

"Can I assume that the rat was in that photograph?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Ron did bring him." Arthur sat back on his heals. "We've been harboring a murderer for three years." He said astounded. "He's been the best dog we could have ever asked for." He chuckled a bit despite the atmosphere. "It's no wonder he won't eat dog food."

The other two men couldn't help but allow themselves to chuckle a bit as well.

Remus let out a low cry. "My best friend. I turned on my best friend."

"You couldn't have known." Dumbledore assured him. "I will see about getting the charges against him dropped, now that we know he was actually innocent."

"What about" Arthur gestured to the remains of Peter Pettigrew.

"I believe that was an accident, was it not?" Dumbledore suggested. Arthur and Remus nodded.

"Justified. He was a Death Eater responsible for killing multiple people, and causing someone years of false imprisonment." Remus agreed. "I don't fault Sirius for this. I'd do the same thing." He shuddered.

"We have to get him out of here." Arthur told them. "Molly will have a hard time with the story, I don't need her seeing this too."

"I will transfigure him for the time being and take him directly to the Auror's from here." Dumbledore turned him into a match box and placed him in his pocket. "And now? Remus. How would you like to proceed with informing Sirius we know of his innocence?"

Remus turned to Arthur, wiping a few stray tears from his cheeks. "Does he usually go off like this?"

Arthur nodded morosely. "Yes. Most evenings. He's usually back just after dark."

Remus let out a sigh. "Then let us go back into the house. Molly was making tea. We'll tell her what's happened and hopefully catch Sirius unaware before he tries to run again."

()()()()

"I am a little concerned that he may smell us and take off as well." Remus admitted to Albus when they were comfortably set up in the sitting room.

Molly had fainted at the story the men had told her. She'd been levitated to the couch and the men took up seats around the fireplace.

"That is an excellent point." Dumbledore waved his wand and, seemingly no change occurred, that they could tell anyways.

"At, erm, what point should I worry about her not waking?" Arthur asked concerned, pointing to his wife.

"Enervate." Dumbledore cast the spell at her.

Molly's eyes popped open and she sat up looking around wild eyed. "Tell me I dreamt it." She asked them. They did not reply verbally. However the cringing looks on Remus and Arthur's faces told her the answer. "Three years we've had him in our home. And the rat…" She lay back down again and threw her arm over her eyes. "What'll we tell the kids?" she mumbled, more to herself.

"He is actually innocent." Arthur placated her.

"Well the bloody rat wasn't, was he? That monster was in our home forever. I just. I can't. I'm going up to bed."

Before she got up though there was a scratching at the door. Arthur froze a moment before nodding to them and getting up to open the door. He let the dog in and instantly locked it securely once it shut again. The dog bounded happily into the room and stopped short when its eyes found Remus. The two stared at each other. Remus was having difficulty breathing and there were a few tears running down his cheeks.

"We found Peter." Dumbledore said. The dog turned to him abruptly. Then looked between all four occupants in the room. "We know you are innocent Sirius. And Arthur and Molly know of your true identity now as well." He continued.

Sirius backed up a few steps before he sat down where he was and looked at Dumbledore with sad upturned eyes, who raised his wand to him. The dog bowed his head and quickly morphed into a man that no longer resembled the haggard, slightly insane looking, escaped convict. Sirius Black the man looked healthy and well kept, despite the torn and dirty prison clothes he'd been wearing over three years ago when he escaped his prison.

He looked between the Weasleys. "Arthur, Molly." He said in a raspy voice. It had been a long time since he'd used it. He cleared his throat. "I am so sorry for deceiving you for so long. You are remarkably kind and decent people, and I grew very attached to your family. After so long in Azkaban, your home and your children were such a comfort. I did what I could to try and be helpful around here to thank you." He bowed his head. He turned to Remus. "Remus." He choked. "I couldn't. I couldn't let him get away with it. When I found out." Tears ran freely from his eyes. "James. Lily. They meant too much to me. I couldn't stop myself from ending him for all he'd done. His betrayal."

Remus let out a cry and lunged towards him, wrapping him up in his arms. "I am so sorry." Remus sobbed. "I should have trusted you. I should have fought for you. I shouldn't have believed what everyone was saying."

"I don't blame you for anything. I know how it looked. I should never have talked them into making him their secret keeper."

"Oh!" Molly cried and flapped her hands a bit, overcome with emotion. "I have to make some biscuits." She jumped up and headed for the kitchen.

Remus looked after her retreating form confused. "It's how she copes." Arthur shrugged.

"Arthur. I really am very sorry." Sirius went on. He and Remus moved to the couch. Remus was unable to remove his arm for around his friends shoulder.

"Wait." Arthur held up a hand and went to the liquor shelf. "I can understand. Especially after everything we've already seen tonight, why you did what you did. And you took care of the actual Death Eater that we'd been unknowingly housing right away. But let us get your full story over a drink, shall we?" He started pouring and handing out glasses of Scotch. "We'll move this into the kitchen so Molly can hear."

Over the next hour Sirius told them all he could about the events leading up to, and after, Halloween 1981, of his imprisonment, why he didn't go crazy around the Dementors, and also about having to overhear the Death Eaters in the surrounding cells for over ten years. How he got the paper from Cornelius Fudge that led to his escape. "The first thing I did when I got out was go to visit Harry. I had to see he was okay." He turned to Dumbledore. "He is still doing okay isn't he?"

"Why don't you ask Professor Lupin?" Dumbledore smiled and nodded to Remus.

"Professor?! That's great. Professor of what?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts. Fourth year now. And Harry is great. Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, Seeker, he's bright, brave, capable and happy. Especially right now." Remus smiled widely and leaned forward conspiratorially.

"Oh! Has a lady friend does he?" Sirius barked a laugh.

"Finally got his first girlfriend and he's completely smitten. Just like his dad was." Remus grinned, thinking back to how much razzing they did to James about Lily.

"What's the lady like? Worthy?" Sirius asked.

Remus paused a minute and exchanged a look with Dumbledore, who had a twinkle in his eye, then glanced over at Arthur and Molly, who looked rather calm now that their belly's were full of drink, and rather like they were enjoying seeing the comradery between the two men. "Hope I'm not betraying any confidences right now, but to hell with it. He's with Ginny Weasley."

Sirius dropped his glass.

"What? When did that happen?" Arthur asked with a dazed smile.

Molly was drunkenly beaming. "She had such the crush on him when she was younger! Do you remember?" She put a hand on Arthur's arm.

Sirius got over his shock and raised two fists in the air. "Yes!" He yelled excitedly. "That's fantastic! Ginny's probably the best girl out there! So sweet, so nice, so feisty and stubborn. Great at Quidditch."

"Yep, yep, all those things." Remus nodded. "They looked pretty friendly as soon as they got to Hogwarts, but I think she told him what was what about a month ago?" He screwed up his face thinking back.

"Ginny's had a boyfriend for a month and she didn't tell us? And it's Harry Potter?" Molly asked slightly offended.

"Probably _because_ it's Harry Potter." Arthur told her.

"Did Ronald tell you about his girl?" Remus asked them.

"Ron has a girlfriend and he didn't tell us either?" Molly looked angry.

"Yep. Hermione Granger. Brightest witch in her year. And the one above. She and Harry are actually best friends." He pointed out to Sirius.

"Gryffindor too?" Sirius asked.

Remus nodded and finished his drink.

"Erm. What now?" Sirius turned to Dumbledore.

"In regards to clearing your name?"

"Yeah. That, and… the kids have to know."

"We should tell them soon. Once we start the process with the Ministry, the Daily Prophet will be running the story. Their version anyways." Remus confirmed.

"I owe those kids the truth first." Sirius told them all with a serious face.

"Tomorrow." Remus said. "After the way I reacted in class today, Harry will probably track me down first thing in the morning."

"What'd you do?" Sirius eyed him humorously.

"Overheard Ginny saying Sirius Black was cuter bringing her hang over potion that Harry was." He laughed so hard he had trouble breathing. Sirius howled with laughter and the rest of the table chuckled too.

"I can only imagine your reaction to that."

Remus wiped the tears of mirth from his eyes and went on to tell the rest of the story and how all the students had looked at him like he was crazy.

"Ah. That girl." Sirius shook his head. "Blew my mind when she gave me the name Sirius Black. Totally astounded. She thought it was funny!"

"I refused to call you that for months." Molly said laughing.

"I remember. You just called me 'dog'. But I'd been called that enough before too." He winked at Remus. They all laughed again. "Oh!" Sirius sobered up. "I'm going to have to go back to Grimmauld Place." He looked concerned.

"Grimmauld Place?" Arthur asked.

"The Black family home. Can't possibly expect you to let me stay here any longer, can I?"

"Oh! Yeah… hadn't thought about it." Arthur said.

"Why don't you come stay at mine tonight, and we'll call the kids to the Headmasters office first thing tomorrow?" Remus looked to Albus who assented to the plan.

"Molly, Arthur, do you think you could join us?" Dumbledore asked.


	5. Discoveries

Harry was waiting with Ron in the common room for the girls to come down for breakfast. Neville had taken off ahead of them.

He and Ron had bonded over Quidditch, something Harry hadn't been able to do with his two best friends. Neville was just wholly uncoordinated, and Hermione didn't much care for sports. It was great having a mate to chat about Quidditch with. And it was surprisingly easy to hang out with him, even with him being Ginny's brother. They just didn't talk about their girlfriends.

With Hermione being like a sister to Harry, he didn't want to hear any stories from Ron about what they get up to.

Hedwig had arrived at his dorm window early that morning with a message from Remus asking that he and the Weasley's come to the Headmasters office before eight. It was a confusing request, but he hoped all would be explained soon, and it obviously had to do with his behavior the previous day.

"Hey, you guys waiting for us?" Ginny and Hermione had arrived at the bottom of the stairs with Lavender and Parvati right behind them.

Harry smiled at her and stepped forward to wrap his arms around her and give her a kiss. Ron did likewise with Hermione while the other two girls giggled and continued out the portrait hole.

"How was your girls' night?" Harry asked her.

"Oh, you know. Hair, nails, make-up, talking about boys, then finishing it off with a pillow fight in our knickers." She teased.

Hermione smacked her backhanded across her arm playfully. "It was pleasantly mind numbing. Why aren't you two down at breakfast yet?"

"Waiting for you." Harry told her and showed them the letter he'd received. "We've been summoned to the Headmasters office."

Harry guided them all there. It had been three years since he'd last been there. Last time it was to check in on him, supposedly because of blowing up his aunt just before this third year, but it had seemed like there was more to it than that. He gave the password from the letter and they climbed the spiral stair case.

"Sirius!" Ginny exclaimed in surprise and rushed to the dog beside Remus. He was a huge shiny black mutt. And Ginny was on her knees beside him before Harry could blink. The dog let her hug him then instantly bounded over to Harry and knocked him down and kept rolling over him.

"Whoa! Calm down." He hadn't had much experience with dogs. Fang and Ripper were the only one's he'd ever been around. This dog was over the top friendly.

Ginny pulled the dog off him. "Sorry! I've never seen him do that before!" She helped Harry to his feet.

"It's fine." He let her pat down his front and shoulders to remove him of the invisible dirt and dog hair, enjoying her touch before she turned back to her dog.

"Sirius! Calm down!" She said sternly.

He squinted down at him. "He actually looks familiar." Had he seen this dog before? A scene flashed through his mind of being a baby and riding on the back of a dog like this one. He shook his head. Couldn't have happened.

The dog whimpered and whined looking between the two of them before going back to Remus.

"Why do you have our dog here?" Ron asked them after giving the dog a 'hello' scratch behind the ears.

"Have a seat, won't you? Your parents will be here in a moment and we will explain everything to you then." Dumbledore told them.

"Our parents?" Ginny asked loudly. "What?"

"All in good time." He raised his hands and gestured to the seats, conjuring another to accommodate Hermione as well.

They all took their seats. Harry sat closest to Remus. "Are you okay?"

To his surprise Remus beamed at him. He looked years younger than he had yesterday. "I'm doing fantastic Harry."

"Okay." Harry said slowly.

Ginny reached over and took his hand. He smiled at her and shrugged. It was all entirely strange. The four of them sat there casting glances at each other and looking all over the interesting office with all the portraits, old books and glass containers of various shiny contents. Dumbledore was seated patiently in front of them with a soft smile. Remus was shifting excitedly beside him and the dog had started pacing by the fireplace. After a few minutes the fireplace burst to life with green flamed and Ron and Ginny jumped up to greet their parents.

It was only then that Harry had a horrifying realization.

This was his girlfriend's parents.

Hermione stood up to greet them properly after a second. She smiled right, offered her hand, complimented Mrs. Weasley and meanwhile Harry was frozen to his seat.

His first instinct was to turn to Remus. Remus chuckled silently at the panicked look on Harry's face and nudged him out of his seat. "Just say hello" He said quietly.

"Right, right. Hello." He said to himself and found his way to his feet, then over to them.

"Mum, Dad. This is Harry." Ginny smiled and introduced him. She put a hand on his back to guide him forward. He hoped he wasn't shaking as much on the outside as he was on the inside and he smiled politely and shook her dad's hand. Her mum pulled him into a bone crushing hug.

"So happy to meet you Harry. We've heard a bit about you from Percy, of course." She pulled back and glared at Ginny. "But nothing from our daughter." She said sternly. Ron snickered. "Nothing from you about Hermione either." The formidable woman rounded on her son. "And why? She looks a lovely girl, and quite intelligent I hear." Ron shut up at that and blushed.

"Perhaps we can get to the matter at hand?" Dumbledore got their attention.

Ginny took Harry's hand and led them back to their seats. He was so relieved that that seemed to have gone well, though realized he hadn't said a damn thing. Her dad seemed so pleasant and down to earth, and her mum came off as a stern, but loving woman.

Once they were all seated again the dog came over to sit beside him and rested its head on his knee. He patted it awkwardly and looked over at Ginny who smirked at him amused.

"What do you know about Peter Pettigrew?" Dumbledore asked them.

"He." Hermione started and abruptly turned to look at Harry. Years of being the first to raise her hand in class to answer questions had ingrained a knee jerk reaction to answer right away. Harry nodded for her to continue. "He was the one who was killed by Sirius Black, after going after him for betraying Harry's parents."

"Correct miss Granger." Dumbledore nodded. "That is what everyone had assumed." Harry exchanged a surprised look with Hermione. That was what they'd been told. He'd been told the story, very reluctantly, by Remus three years ago. "You see, Peter Pettigrew was actually a Death Eater. We have just discovered that it was in fact _he_ that turned on James and Lily Potter. He was their Secret Keeper, and only Sirius knew that."

"So, when Sirius Black went after him, it was out of revenge?" Hermione asked.

More than ever Harry was glad to have brought her along. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, and so many different directions his brain was going in that he couldn't quite formulate the words for them. Hermione was here to ask for him.

"It was a rash action on his part when it came to that, yes."

"Rash action?" Harry found his voice. "He killed a bunch of Muggles, not just Pettigrew!"

"Actually." Remus cut in. "Peter did that. As a distraction." The four of them were silent, waiting for him to go on. Remus cringed a bit. "You see… Peter was an Animagus." Harry's jaw dropped. "A rat."

Harry felt something shake lightly in his hand. He looked down at it. Ginny was holding his hand. He didn't know when that happened, but she was shivering. She turned to Ron, then they both turned to their parents who nodded solemnly.

"We found the body of Peter Pettigrew last night. Deceased approximately three years."

"My dog?" Ginny said and looked over at the dog.

"Yes." Dumbledore said. "That leads us to the other part of the story. You see, Mr. Pettigrew was not the only Animagus." Dumbledore said carefully.

The dog went over to the other side of Remus' chair then and suddenly became a man that was an older version of the one Harry had seen in his family photos that Hagrid had given him. He was healthy, cleanly shaven and looked apologetic with a hint of charming. Harry stared at him, mouth open, until pain registered in his brain. "Ow!" He looked down and found the source of his pain to be Ginny's newly polished finger nails digging into his skin. He quickly pried her fingers off him and took her hand in both of his. "Ginny?"

He was shocked at the situation, but she was even more so. She'd lived with him for three years. She'd taken care of him, loved him even, and he'd actually been a thirty something year-old man on the run.

"Maybe you are good at naming pets." Ron said softly. Hermione collected herself enough to smack in over the head. "Ow!"

"Thank you dear." Mrs. Weasley smiled at her.

"How are you so calm about all this?" Ron asked them.

"We heard everything last night." Mr. Weasley told him. "We, erm, didn't actually react as well as the four of you actually."

Remus sniggered a little. "No, we certainly didn't."

"Harry? Ginny?" Sirius spoke to them. Harry looked back over at him. He was staring intently at both of them.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to say." Harry admitted. "I mean. You were friends with my parents, sent to prison, escaped, and lived the last three years as a dog. What more is there to say?"

Sirius exchanged a look with Remus before looking back at him. "Essentially…"

Harry felt Ginny pull her hand out from between his. She gripped the arms of her chair a moment before standing up and walking over to Sirius. Harry caught a blazing look in her eyes right before she slapped him hard across the face and turned around to leave. She slammed the door behind her and Harry stood up abruptly, looking back and forth between the door and Sirius Black.

"I deserved that." Sirius said rubbing his cheek.

"Harry." Remus put a hand on his arm. "We would like to talk to you more." Harry was torn. He really wanted to go after Ginny. "Later." Remus said. "You know where my quarters are."

Harry nodded and gave one last look to Sirius. He was still holding his cheek, but had a playful smile ghosting on his lips. "Go on. We'll have time to talk later."

Harry went for the door, he almost remembered Ginny's parents too late. "Um. It was good to meet you." He managed feebly.

"You too Harry. I'm sure we'll see you again soon." Mrs. Weasley smiled.

Harry ran down the stairs after Ginny. Frantically he looked left and right down the corridors for sight of her.

"That way." The gargoyle guarding the office told him, pointing to the right.

"Thanks!" He ran down the hall, at the end of the hall he had the choice of going up or down the stairs. She may have wanted to go outside, or the kitchens, or back to Gryffindor Tower. Classes had already begun for the morning, so there weren't any other students running around.

If she'd taken the stairs down, he could probably still be able to see her. Taking a chance, he headed up the stairs. He bolted up two flights of stairs and caught a glimpse of her hair down the fifth-floor corridor. "Ginny" He yelled.

She stopped and turned to him, waiting for him to catch up to her. He drew her into his arms and hugged her tight to him. He pulled back and placed his hands on each side of her face. He couldn't read her expression. Worry, anger, sadness, betrayal, hurt? He couldn't make it out. Her eyes had always been so expressive and easy to read.

It dawned on him that she didn't know how she felt. That was why she'd run off on her own.

He felt his stomach drop a bit. Should he not have followed her? "You. You don't want me to leave, do you?"

He face relaxed into a grateful smile, and she shook her head 'no'. "I'm just processing. I will want to talk about this, but not until I am…" She bit her lip searching for the words.

Harry understood. "Prefect's Bathroom?" He asked noticing how close they were to it.

She nodded and he took her hand. This whole ordeal was a lot. He needed to process too, but focusing on helping Ginny deal was the priority for him right then. His side of it could wait until later.

They got to the bathroom and locked the door to outsiders. She went around and turned on a few of the taps. The room soon smelled of mint and orange. As she began to take off her clothes, he had to remind himself that she was not in the mood to mess around. He shouldn't be either.

But as she stripped down to her knickers, he couldn't help recalling how good it felt to grind up against her. How soft her breasts had felt in his hand and tasted under his tongue. His erection was telling him exactly what mood he was in. Though, he was rarely ever not in that mood lately, and it had only been about forty hours since she'd brought him writhing to ecstasy in his dorm bed.

She let her clothes fall to the floor and he twitched in his pants. Quickly as possible he stripped down to his boxers and slid into the water, hoping she hadn't noticed how he was tenting.

Harry was desperate to touch her, but didn't want to appear insensitive. "Let me give you a back rub." He offered.

Her back was to him already and she nodded floating back towards him. Her bum bumped against his erection. "Sorry." He said through clenched teeth.

She let out a single breathy chuckle. Ginny dipped down and caught the tip of him against the small of her back and came back up against his so he was nestled securely between her bum cheeks pointing it up at his belly button. He groaned at the sensation and tried to focus on his hands rubbing her shoulders and back.

She made soft moaning noises and tilted her head to the side as he worked on her. But every time she moaned, he twitched against her. Harry had his back up against the side of the tub and she was fairly flush against him. Ginny started rocking her hips back slowly against him. The feeling sent his eyes rolling back in his head. "Ow." His head fell back rather abruptly against on of the taps behind him.

"Careful there." She teased in a seductive tone.

He slid them over a few inches from the taps behind him. She rocked against him more. The water was causing some difficulty maintaining the pressure between them. He gave up on massaging her back and wrapped one arm around her waist, the other went to massage her breast as his mouth attacked her neck.

She reached behind her and grabbed his hips as she arched her back slightly to bring him tighter against her ass. She was matching him moan for groan as they sped up their movements. His hand on her waist buried itself in her knickers of its own volition and he was rewarded with her cry of ecstasy when his middle finger found her clit.

Harry only had a rudimentary knowledge of a woman's sex from what little bit of pornography Seamus had showed him, but his hand seemed to know what it was doing if her reaction was any indication. If possible, he was even more turned on. He wanted to banish their remaining clothes and bury himself in her right now, but that would take too much work at the moment.

He was too caught up in keeping pace and the thought of how good it would feel to be buried inside her was driving him over the edge. His finger had found its way into her entrance and it was so deliciously warm and slick that he came right away.

Ginny kept moving against him as he started to go slack. "Please. Don't stop." Ginny cried.

Harry fought off the desire to close his eyes. She wanted him to make her cum. He pulled her over with him to the corner of the tub and kept her back tight against him, his finger inside her not stopping for a second.

He lowered his other hand to press tight circles around her clit as he pumped his one finger in and out of her. She was mewing and thrusting down on his hand. He added another finger inside her and was amazed at how tight it felt with two fingers and how his fingers were suctioned in and accommodated. He grew hard again knowing it would do the same to his cock, which was wider than two fingers and would relish in the delicious tightness on every part of it.

Ginny braced her hands on each side of the tub and started mumbling something he couldn't hear over the sound of his own blood pumping in his ears and the sloshing water. Harry's eyes widened when his fingers felt the new sensation of her pulsing against him. She got even tighter around his digits and let out a cry. His hand on her clit moved to grab her around the middle again after she came. She had started sinking down in the water.

He refused to remove his fingers until she stopped pulsing against them. "That was amazing." He said, more to himself.

She relaxed back against him and rested her head on his shoulder, just humming in response. "You're hard again." She said in surprise.

"Ignore it. That was just a huge turn on." His chest vibrated from her chuckle.

"Good to know." She groaned as he finally removed his hand from inside her knickers.

He kissed down the side of her neck to her shoulder. She turned around in his arms and wrapped hers around him as well. Harry felt so complete with her in his arms. He knew he loved her. This had to be more than infatuation. He'd known it since he first saw her at Kings Cross, and had almost said it several times, but he'd always caught himself before saying it.

Like right now, he really wanted to tell her, but they had just done… that, and it had been an insane morning. Was it even 9 a.m.? "We didn't even have breakfast." He wondered out loud.

She laughed and then groaned. "And now that you've said that I'm starving!" She kissed him on the lips and swam over to climb out of the tub. He frowned at the loss of skin on skin, but after registering his body's needs he realized he was starving too. "Hey! That was proper swimming!" Ginny praised him and waved her wand at him, drying him off in an instant.

He beamed proudly and kissed her lightly. "I have a really good teacher."

She pushed him back. "Okay. Enough of that. I need food!" She demanded adorably.

Harry pulled on his clothes quickly and they hurried down to the kitchens.

They were only two feet through the door when they noticed Remus alone at one of the small tables, but two plates in front of him. "Oh." He said surprised and flicked his wand across from him where Sirius appeared. "Did you want us to leave?" he asked tentatively.

"I'm too hungry to care." Ginny stomped over and sat beside Remus, stealing a muffin off of his plate and immediately dug into it.

Harry couldn't help but be amused about how she got when she was hungry. He went and sat by Sirius. A house elf rushed over and Harry ordered for himself and Ginny since her mouth was full. He knew what she liked.

Ginny stared at Sirius while she finished her muffin. "If you want to slap me again, you can." He offered.

Ginny narrowed her eyes at him. "I gave you baths." Harry grew entirely uncomfortable at that admission. Remus looked to feel the same way. "I brushed your teeth." She took hold of the coffee the house elf had placed in front of her and took a sip, not taking her eyes off of Sirius. "You would cuddle up on the couch with me." She said after she swallowed.

Sirius gave her a crooked smile. "I did try to run away every time you tried to clean me." He defended.

"At first." She countered.

"Yeah. See, thing is, every year of being stuck a dog, my mind kind of went more and more canine, and I kind of forgot I was human sometimes." He said apologetically. "I did always leave the room when it looked like it might get inappropriate." He pointed out.

"Yeah." She said sarcastically. "Thank you so much for never going into the bathroom, and leaving whenever I was getting dressed."

"Yes, I am a gentleman." Ginny rolled her eyes at him and shook her head. "Do you think you can forgive me?"

"Yes. But not right this second." She looked down and finished breaking apart her muffin.

Sirius turned to Harry. "And you?"

Harry was confused. "What do I have to forgive you for?"

"For insisting Peter be the Secret Keeper."

Harry looked bewildered. "You couldn't have known."

"Then for going off after Peter, instead of staying with you. You wouldn't be stuck with those horrible relatives of yours if I had controlled myself."

Ginny's attention snapped to Harry at that. Harry hadn't told anyone about what living at the Dursley's the past fifteen years had been like. Remus looked confused at Sirius' choice of words. "What do you know about it?" Harry asked carefully.

"I went to check in on you first, three years ago. I heard all the yelling, I saw your bedroom window, and I remember Lily's stories about her sister and that awful husband of hers."

Harry cast nervous glances at Ginny and Remus. He could already foresee the conversations he would have to have with them later.

It had taken him a long time to realize he was being mistreated by his family. Until he was nine, he didn't know family dynamics could be any other way. Sure, he saw Dudley getting inundated with love and affection by his parents, but Harry was not their son. When he was nine a new boy joined his primary school class.

Harry learned he had been adopted. The boy was from Ghana originally and his adoptive parents were a white British couple. Harry watched with a longing fascination when the boy was picked up after school every day with a hug and kiss from his new mother. "I doubt they would have been okay with you visiting." Harry didn't know what difference it would have made to him for Sirius to not have been in prison.

"Harry." Sirius said worried. "You wouldn't have been with them at all. I am your Godfather. You would have gone with me."

Harry's stomach dropped away. The sad longing he'd felt watching the adoptive boy getting hugged when he couldn't ever remember having been embraced came back ten-fold.

Harry was looking into Sirius deep black eyes and forgot how to breath as he tried to envision what his life may have looked like. Would Sirius have loved him, taken care of him. Remus would have come over for visits, taken him to Quidditch games. He never would have known hunger, or been locked up over the summer, or forced to do manual labor in the blazing heat for hours on end.

"That would have." He managed to choke out before losing his voice.

Sirius pulled him into a fierce hug as he started crying. Harry tried his best not to let out any sobs while he cried.

It took a few moments to collect himself. He was enjoying the feeling of being hugged so fiercely. Ginny and Hermione had been the only other people he'd hugged before today, but this was different. Sirius was an adult, that wanted him and was his Godfather.

"I have a lot of work to do at my house." Sirius told him, refusing to let him go. "But if you want. I'd love for you to come stay with me next summer. I, um, I know you are coming into your inheritance, but for the first part of the summer anyways…"

Harry pulled back and hastily wiped his face with his cuff. "Inheritance? I already have access to my Gringotts account." Harry was confused. His parents had left him more than enough for school, but he wasn't going to be living the life of luxury off of it.

Sirius looked over to Remus. "He doesn't know?"

Remus looked surprised too. "I assumed Dumbledore would have told him."

Harry looked over to Ginny and his heart tightened. She'd been crying silently too. "Harry." She said, and sniffled, suppressing some of her emotions he saw shining in her eyes. "Potter is a very old magic family. You'll have a Lordship and land titles for sure." She explained.

"Your current Gringotts account will have been your mother and fathers, but Fleamont and Euphemia Potter held the ownership of the Potter family vaults and estate. It would have taken two years after their passing for James to take control, but now it is all yours once you are of age." Sirius explained.

Harry's head was swimming. An hour ago, he'd thought it had been a full-on day, now he was seriously overwhelmed. "This has been a very big day." He mumbled to himself and looked down at his plate.

Ginny reached over and covered one of his hands. He raised his eyes to her and saw a small smirk play on her face. "What was your favorite part so far?" She asked innocently. Harry's jaw dropped and he felt a blush creep up his face. She was bringing up what they did in the bathroom now? Here? In front of these two? She smiled wider at him. "Just trying to take your mind off things. Like you did for me earlier." She explained.

"You're evil." He smiled back.

She winked. "Only a little."

Remus shifted uncomfortably. "I don't want to know." He moved away from Ginny a bit.

"Thought you two looked a little more relaxed." Sirius snickered. "Right after meeting her parents?" Harry buried his face in his hands and they all laughed.

"Can we move this to my quarters?" Remus asked. "I have a class to teach. Sirius, you don't have a wand to disillusion yourself with, and I believe you two have been given a pass for the rest of the day."


	6. Discussions

Sirius and Professor Lupin had taken off and Harry and Ginny hung back to finish up their breakfast. Harry wasn't saying anything. His blushing from her innuendo had gone, and he was staring at what was left of his breakfast contemplatively.

Ginny moved around to sit beside him. "You never mentioned about your relatives." Ginny gently prodded. She'd talked about her family around him often enough, and felt kind of awful that she hadn't asked anything about his family, or home life. Everyone knew the story of what happened to his parents. But she hadn't even noticed he'd said nothing of the Muggle relatives he lived with.

Harry tore up a his piece of toast, seemingly ignoring her.

Clearly it was something he hadn't mentioned to anyone. Professor Lupin looked shocked and a little outraged at Sirius' words. Hermione had never mentioned anything either, but she seemed the type that was able to keep a secret. And Neville would have never mentioned anything to her about that either in respect of Harry's privacy.

If Harry didn't want to talk about it then, well she didn't want to pry, or make him feel uncomfortable. But she hoped that they had the type of relationship where he felt he could tell her things. Even the bad things.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" She offered. "Since we've been excused from our morning classes." She mused. "And even if we hadn't, well. I don't think it'll hurt us too much to skip two more classes."

Harry nodded and stood up. She took his hand.

It was his turn to ponder things over. She'd been the way he was now just after she'd left the headmasters office.

They walked silently out to the lakeside and wandered along the shoreline.

"There're mermaids down there." He said, looking out at the water. "The were part of the Tri-Wizard Tournament." He led her over to sit on the ground by a tree and cast a warming charm around them. "The champions had to rescue someone from the bottom of the lake."

"Sounds exciting." Ginny commented, hoping he'd keep talking.

Harry let out a single snort. "For the champions maybe. But the rest of us were just stuck staring at the surface water for an hour."

Ginny chuckled. "Yeah, that part doesn't sound very fun."

"It was pretty cold too." Harry traced a pattern in the snow. "Hermione was actually the one that Victor Krum had to rescue."

Ginny's eyebrows went up at that. "She never told me that!"

He shrugged. "She doesn't talk about him much. I think they still write each other a bit, but that's it. They went out for a while when he was here, but didn't continue anything romantic after he left."

Ginny hummed in response, then thought about their friend. "She doesn't seem very close to Lavender or Parvati."

"She mostly hangs out with Neville and I. Those two girls are a little too.. I don't know, gossipy? Girlie?"

"Well, I'm glad she's deemed me worthy of her friendship. Besides her being really nice, and super helpful with my studies, I just generally feel comfortable hanging out with her. When she doesn't have Ron's tongue in her mouth anyways." She added as an afterthought.

Harry gave a little smile at that.

Ginny sighed. He was still all in his head. She shifted so she was straddling his waist. He sucked in a breath in surprise.

"Harry." She cupped each side of his face in her hands. "I know you have a lot going on in your head. Can you please let me in on some of it? If you don't want to talk about your home, then please tell me something else. I think it'll make you feel a little lighter."

He chewed the inside of his lip and ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "It's just. It's a lot."

She leaned down and kissed him softly. "Which part?"

"All of it!" He leaned back, misjudging where the tree behind him was and hitting his head on a root. "Ouch."

Ginny giggled and pulled him to sit up again. They shifted around so he was properly leaning back against the tree trunk, and she turned around to lean her back against him, settling between his legs to look out at the water.

"So now I will be getting a family vault, a title, and.. like, land and stuff."

"Probably have a house somewhere too." She added.

He sighed. "And everyone just assumed I knew." She could hear the frustration in his voice.

Whether it was intentional or not they could only speculate on. If she'd just found out that she was coming into an inheritance in a year that she'd need to manage she'd be a little overwhelmed too. But when you didn't know who exactly to direct any aggression about that at, she could see him being slightly angry with himself about it. "Well, there was a lot of chaos happening when you.. when your parents. Um. When the war ended." She tried the least hurtful way to say that. "And with your intended guardian getting hauled off to Azkaban, I'm sure the fact that you had a few Gringotts vaults wasn't a high priority."

He said nothing, he only ran his hand up and down her forearm absentmindedly.

"At least you didn't find out on your seventeenth birthday by getting a letter from Gringotts or something." She tried to point out the bright side.

"Yeah. I guess finding out now is better than that. Time to wrap my head around it before it actually comes into effect." He leaned his forehead against the back of her head.

"Hey!" She had a light bulb turn on in her mind. "My brother Bill works for Gringotts! I'm sure he'd be alright with you asking him questions about all this. I mean. I know you have other people you could ask, but he's one more, in case."

Harry kissed the back of her head. "Thanks." Then he groaned. "I don't know what your parents must think of me."

She rubbed his arm. "What do you mean?"

"Well I didn't say a single word to them besides 'nice to meet you' before I bolted out of there after you."

"Harry, my parents trust Ron and my's judgement. And it isn't like they have no idea who you are." She pointed out with a snicker. "Plus there was quite a situation that happened there. I think you'll get a second chance at a first impression. If you want one."

"What do you mean 'if I want one'?"

"Well. Meeting my brothers was one thing. Meeting my parents was another, and completely sprung on us." She said carefully. "And we've only been going out for a month."

"What? That's. I." He fished around, looking for his words. "Ginny. I'm not weirded out because I met your parents, it's because I could have made a better impression. You and I aren't just a passing fancy." He tensed up slightly at that. "I, uh. I mean. To me, this isn't..."

Ginny grinned and turned around enough to give him a kiss to shut him up. "I don't think of you as a passing fancy either. Otherwise I would _never_ have..." She stopped and felt a blush spread over her face before turning back around and hoping he would catch on.

She wouldn't have gone as far with him as she had if he hadn't felt like he was just a passing fancy. He'd touched her intimately just this morning. Only about an hour ago. It had felt incredible, and she didn't know how to deal with the overwhelming desire of wanting more. There was a little voice in her head saying that it was too soon for more. Then there was another louder one saying 'why wait?'

Even if they didn't last forever, she wouldn't regret having her first time be with him. He was bound to be gentle and considerate about it.

He hugged her tighter for a moment before loosening his grip, but still keeping his arms around her. "How are you feeling about Sirius Black being... Sirius Black."

"Urgh." She leaned her head back on his shoulder, and a shiver ran through her. "It's kind of gross. My dog was a thirty-something year old man." She shivered again. "And Percy and Ron's rat was a Death Eater!" She said louder. "That is entirely terrifying."

"Maybe we should learn that spell that forces an Animagus to reveal themselves. I'm kind of wanting to use it on Hedwig." Harry joked.

Ginny swatted his arm. "Actually. That would give me piece of mind." She chuckled. "But still. My dog was an escaped criminal." She stated in a daze before shaking her head.

"And that escaped criminal is my legal guardian."

"Once the charges are dropped anyways." Ginny pointed out.

"Um. You're sure he never was in the room when you were changing?" He asked tentatively.

"Gross. Harry!" She moaned. "Please don't even make me think over it."

He chuckled again and kissed her neck.

"You think you'll go and live with him next summer if he's cleared?" She asked, thinking it would be nice if he was somewhere connected by Floo so they could visit each other until they turned of age.

Harry took his time thinking over it. "I don't know. I don't even know him."

"Do you think it'd be better than where you are currently living during the summers?" She played with the sleeve of his cloak. It was the most evasive way she could ask about the Muggles.

"Yes." He said softly.

She sighed and said nothing. Hoping that he'd elaborate if she gave him some time.

"They mostly leave me to my own devices now that I'm older. But only so long as I have all my chores done. And when I'm there I get all the chores."

"What did they do when you were younger?" She whispered.

"My coordination got me in a lot of trouble. Like if I accidentally broke something. They'd just... you know, lock me in my room. Or... not feed me."

She couldn't stop her chin from warbling at that.

"I didn't have clothes that properly fit until I got my Hogwarts uniform. Everything was hand-me-downs." He told her. "Which wouldn't be a bad thing, except that my cousin is about ten sizes larger than I am. And all of my clothes were ripped, or stained in some manner."

She remained carefully silent, knowing that this must be incredibly hard for him to share with her.

"They. They hate magic." He whispered. "They knew I was a wizard, and about my mum and dad being a witch and wizard, but never told me. When I found out it was my eleventh birthday, and Hagrid was the one to tell me." He paused. "That was the reason that they'd called me a freak my whole childhood."

Ginny let her silent tears fall. Not letting herself wipe them away lest he stop talking.

"I had no idea that I was famous until Hagrid took me through Diagon Alley. I guess it kept me grounded, you know, being belittled by my family." He paused a moment. "When I met Gilderoy Lockhart, and his over inflated ego, there was a moment where I wondered if I'd have turned out like him if I'd known." He sucked in a breath. "Snape treated me like I was an egotistical blowhard for my first year, and part of my second. Then he calmed down a bit." He shrugged.

"You." She needed to clear her throat. "What is your cousin like?"

"Dudley. He's my age, but he treats me like how his parents taught him to treat me." He shrugged again.

"So, not like a sibling then."

"No. More like his own personal punching bag." He told her wryly.

She couldn't control it any more and turned around to try and be closer to him. She pulled his lips to her own and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"Ginny." He gasped when he pulled his mouth away from hers, which seemed to take great strength on his part.

She hummed in question as she trailed kisses along his jaw.

"Ginny. I don't need pity kisses."

She stopped and pulled back, upset about that. "I'm not kissing you now out of pity." She argued. "It's because I want.. because." She searched for the right words. "I need you to know that I'm here." She stated finally.

He blinked at her. "What? I know you're here." He indicated to how she was straddling him and had a good grip on his tie.

"Okay. Not that I'm here in the physical sense. Just... that I'm not going anywhere. That I want you to know that you deserve so much better than those horrible people." She exasperated. "Pity kisses would be one's that someone feels they have to give out of obligation. Mine are because I couldn't manage to keep my hands off you any longer. Because I want to comfort you, and make up for all those time's you didn't have someone there to comfort you."

His face flushed slightly as he stared at her in wonderment. "Ginny." He croaked.

"Please." She begged. "Can you just kiss me now?"

A smile crept onto his face before he closed the distance between them again.

()()

Harry and Ginny came across Ron and Hermione on the way back to Gryffindor Tower just before lunch was due to start.

"Ginny." Ron nearly shouted and rushed over to her. "You okay? Where have you been?"

Ginny shook her head to try and dismiss his concern. "I'm doing better. It was just a huge shock."

"Of course it was." Hermione agreed. "I was shocked and I'm the least effected here." She trailed her hand down Ginny's arm in a comforting manner, then turned to Harry. "What about you? Are you okay too?"

Harry squeezed Ginny's hand a moment, then lessened his grip, not letting it go. "Still wrapping my head around things."

"Course you are." Ron nodded. "This whole thing is crazy." He turned to Ginny. "Mum and Dad want to meet up this coming weekend in Hogsmeade. At the twins flat. They want to... I dunno. Discuss this as a family." He shook his head dismissively.

"Dumbledore has already left to the Ministry to present his proof of Sirius Blacks innocence. For now he is staying with Professor Lupin." Hermione whispered to them.

"We know." Ginny nodded slowly. "We ran into them in the kitchens." There was a flicker of something that crossed her face that Harry wasn't quite familiar with, but it brought a smile to Ron's face quick enough.

"Gave it to him good did you?" Ron grinned.

Ginny struggled to keep a smile off of her face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Hey!" Came a call from down the corridor. It appeared that classes had let out, as Neville was walking towards them with a sea of people filtering into the area behind him. "Where've you lot been? Missed three classes." He exasperated before eyeing Hermione in particular, as that was not something she would have done unless absolutely necessary.

Harry felt bad that Neville had been left out of this. They'd been spending less and less time together now that Harry had Ginny, Hermione had Ron, and Neville was working towards his Herbology Apprenticeship. Plus Quidditch.

Ron and Ginny gave each other a weary look before turning to their partners with a look that clearly indicated that they'd be trusting their judgement on this one.

"We do have a pretty crazy story for you, but there are too many people about right now." Hermione told him.

"Yeah. We promise we'll fill you in later." Harry assured him.

"But first, I'm starving." Ron moaned.

"Uh. Okay." Neville said, looking a little put out. "Are you going to your afternoon classes?"

"I think we should." Ginny said to the group, just as it looked as though Hermione was about to say the same thing. "We'll just be brooding about this otherwise."

"It isn't really something to brood about." Hermione pointed out. "It's just rather fantastical."

"He wasn't your dog." Ron pointed out. "I can't stop thinking about all the times I spent with him, and if he saw anything I'd rather have kept private." He shivered.

"Uhh. What happened to your dog?" Neville asked.

Harry shook his head. "Later Neville. Come on, lets go get some lunch." He tugged lightly on Ginny's hand to bring her along back towards the Great Hall.

There was a giggle behind him. "Um, Harry." Hermione snickered. "You might want to brush off your cloak."

He immediately tried to look over his shoulder and see what she was talking about.

Ginny let go of his hand and peered at his back, blushing slightly and smiling to herself before patting down his back. "You've got dead leaves and such stuck to the fabric." She paused and pulled a dead leaf out of his hair too, handing it to him with a big grin.

Harry took it and gave her a quick kiss. "Worth the embarrassment." He whispered.

Ginny rejoiced internally and felt a blush creep onto her face.

()()()

"I call to order this emergency meeting of the Wizengamut on this the 6th day of November 1997." Spoke the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge. "We are here to discuss the case of the escaped convict Sirius Black." He tilted his head to the gentleman to his left. "I present Albus Dumbledore who has new evidence on the matter of which the meeting has been called. Dumbledore, you have the floor."

"Thank you Minister." Dumbledore stood and retrieved a box from his pocket. "Lords and Ladies, members of the Mugwamp. For three years we have been searching for the escaped convict Sirius Black, imprisoned for the crime of murder and for being associated with the fallen Dark Lord and passing on privileged information. Recently I have discovered that this Mr. Sirius Black was never in fact convicted."

There was a low murmur among the members in the assembly, and more than a few gasps.

"It has appeared that the charges that were claimed against Mr. Black, he was never properly convicted of, nor did he commit." He impressed the seriousness of of his last words with a meaningful eye cast upon his fellow people.

"That cannot be!" The Minister stood up.

Dumbledore raised a hand to try and placate the Minister and stop further outbursts arising.

"One of the charges, for the murder of Mr. Peter Pettigrew, we have discovered that Mr. Pettigrew did not die that day. He was in fact an Animagus and spent 12 years living in hiding, disguised as a pet for a prominent magical family."

Further murmurs of shock and scandal sounded out from the benches.

"What proof have you of this?" Asked one of the senior Mugwump members.

"I hold in my hand the remains of Mr. Pettigrew." He levitated the box so it would hover in the arena. "I warn you that this will turn back into a three-years decomposed body."

"Perhaps, for the sake of removing any sense of skepticism we might let someone else remove your spell?" Amelia Bones offered. As the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement she had the highest authority when it came to hearings and trials. In this space, she was merely a representative of her department, but still highly trusted.

"Of course." Dumbledore gestured for her to remove his spells.

The small box expanded further and further outwards, its cardboard sides ripping apart and falling away, revealing to everyone the decomposed corpse of the man in question. Peter Pettigrew's face had been shown in all the newspaper segments run alongside the warnings about Sirius Black, showing him as one of the victims of the mad escapee.

"How do we know that he has only been deceased for three years?" Someone called out. "And even if he has. How did he die?"

"An unfortunate incident." Dumbledore nodded. "The family he sought refuge with housed him for over a decade, believing him to be only their pet rat. It was as a rat that his neck snapped and the family buried him with their other departed pets in their yard."

"Who is this family?" Lucius Malfoy asked.

"I have requested their head of house attend our meeting today to confirm this story." Dumbledore gestured to Arthur Weasley, who had been seated silently off to the side.

Minister Fudge had been staring at the body that was slowly rotating around, suspended in the air. He must have felt Dumbledore's eyes on him which pulled him back to focus. "Yes." He indicated for Arthur Weasley to rise. "Please tell us what you know of this."

Arthur stood. "I am willing to testify under Veritaserum if necessary. We truly believed him to be no more than a domestic rat. He came into our family as a pet for one of my boys around Christmastime in 1981. His death was an accident that happened three years ago, and he was buried as a pet until Dumbledore discovered him."

"There is more." Dumbledore stated, quieting the cacophony that had erupted once more. "It appears that Peter Pettigrew... was a Death Eater." He gently spun the suspended body again and lifted it's left shirt sleeve to bare the forearm with the mark. The body then rotated around slowly once more, showcasing the marking for all present.

"This. This is unbelievable!" The Minister sputtered.

There was no attempt to quiet down the many conversations that came from everyone present at that.

The minister banged on his desk after conferring with his scribe. "Alright. Alright. We still must discuss the case of Sirius Black." The ministers gaze kept going back to the floating body and he would wince in disgust. "Can we please do away with the body? It needs to be properly processed by the medical examiner."

Amelia Bones did the honors of transfiguring the body once more, and nodded to one of the Auror's present to alert the necessary party to deal with the corpse.

"What of the eleven Muggle's that perished in the attempt by Sirius Black on Peter Pettigrew?"

"Mr. Pettigrew is the one responsible for that." Dumbledore stated sadly. "I pose that he knew Mr. Black would not have let him get away with the deaths of James and Lily Potter and acted accordingly to make his getaway."

"Was Sirius Black not their Secret Keeper?" Asked a younger member of the congregation who would have went to school with them.

"Sirius Black had parlayed that role to Peter Pettigrew, believing that Voldemort-" The room gasped and winced at the name. "Would be sure to go after he rather than Mr. Pettigrew."

The room at large took a moment to think that over. Dumbledore was sure to look at the faces of those he knew also bore the mark of the Death Eater. He knew they had claimed to have been forced to commit heinous crimes through threats or the Imperius Curse, but did not believe it. Nor did he believe that those who acquitted them think that either. It had just been a big game of politics when it came to sentencing after Voldemort's supposed downfall. Those who wished to look closely at the size of the Gringott's Vaults belonging to the excused Death Eaters would understand.

"How did he escape Azkaban?" A voice asked over the calamity.

"An excellent question. And one that will be answered after it is agreed that the only thing Sirius Black could actually be accused of is escaping his wrongful imprisonment."

"Absolutely not." Fudge cried out. "We will need the entire story from you Dumbledore. You must tell us everything you know. And we will need the man himself."

"So you do believe him to still be guilty of murdering Peter Pettigrew fifteen years ago?" Dumbledore calmly asked the Minister.

Fudge sputtered indignantly, turning quite red in the face. He never was one capable of making decisions on his own. He would want to confer with several other members of the Ministry before making any declarations.

And Albus Dumbledore was counting on that.

Amelia Bones spoke up. "Perhaps we should wait to hear back from the medical examiner." She offered. "Once we have an accurate time of death for Peter Pettigrew we will be able to confirm whether Sirius Black should be cleared of that charge."

"Yes." Fudge latched on to that idea. "We will wait until we hear back from the examiner."

"I will get his file from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and his wand would still be held at Azkaban." Amelia added on. "A simple Priori Incantem will tell us what his last spells had been."

"Yes. Perfect." Fudge agreed. "I call this session to a recess until tomorrow, at which time we will be able to confirm the innocence of the escapee Sirius Black on the charges of murder placed on him on November 1st, 1981."

()()

He had a case of jittery leg all through his afternoon classes. Telling Ginny those things that morning had been a little cathartic, but he was nervous about talking to Sirius Black and Remus later.

After dinner is what they'd decided.

Just Harry and Ginny.

Ron seemed to have come to terms with everything rather quickly. He was the type to just roll with the punches. Hermione, while entirely interested, realized that Harry would probably prefer less people there. No doubt she would bombard him with questions after though. Neville had been filled in on what happened in Dumbledore's office and had been dumbstruck, but stated he wouldn't have wanted to be invited to that tea party.

Neither Harry nor Ginny brought up what happened in the kitchens, other than to say that Ginny had made sure Sirius knew that wasn't going to get off easy if she had anything to say about it.

Remus had been at dinner in the Great Hall, looking quite happy and quite like he'd rather be somewhere else.

Ginny had merely pushed her food around on her plate, taking a nibble here and there. Hermione wasn't letting Harry get away with doing that though. She kept nagging at him to eat.

He'd manage one forkful every time she said something.

As soon as Remus stood to take his leave Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and she stood with him, heading for the doors. They walked beside the Professor, saying nothing until they reached his rooms.

"Finally." Sirius smiled from by the fireplace when they came in. "I was having Azkaban flashbacks being stuck in here." He joked.

"What? None from when you'd sneak girls around the castle." Remus teased and gestured for Harry and Ginny to move further into the room.

"Well, I'd need company for those flashbacks, wouldn't I?" Sirius waggled his eyebrows.

"I heard Dumbledore went to the Ministry with the rat today." Ginny interrupted them, attempting to pull them towards a pertinent topic. Her question stopped their boyish banter from going any further.

Again Harry was grateful for the women in his life. He didn't know where to start off with all the thoughts and questions running through his head. Ginny and Hermione were both God sends.

"Yes. He's been there all day actually." Remus said and went to the cupboard in his little kitchen to pull out tea cups and put the kettle on to boil.

"I never had an actual trial." Sirius told them. "That should help things along."

"But you have been evading arrest for three years." Harry puzzled. "Even though you were wrongfully incarcerated, doesn't that put points against your freedom?"

"They have the proof of his innocence in the form of P-Peter." Remus stuttered at his former friends name. "And..." He turned to Ginny. "Your parents are going to be character witnesses."

She tucked her top lip between her teeth at that, but said nothing.

Harry sat down beside her on the couch and they both accepted a cup of tea from their Professor when he handed them each a cup. The four of them sat awkwardly, waiting for someone else to start talking.

"You have a house somewhere?" Ginny asked with a little confusion. "You mentioned it earlier." She told Sirius, who nodded. "But, then why did you hide out at the Burrow instead of living there as a... well, human."

Sirius paused, and looked miserable about the answer. "Kreacher."

Remus even cringed slightly at that.

"Kreacher?" Ginny asked. "What the hell is a Kreacher?"

"It's a who." Sirius explained. "He was my family House Elf. Hated me, loved my crazy blood purity obsessed mother." He sighed. "And after being at the Burrow for the few days that it had taken me to finally... um, for the rat to be dealt with." He corrected his line of thought. "It was just. Well it was kind of wonderful." Sirius smiled. "You and all of your brothers were just so... great. Even when you were all fighting. The whole place was just a breath of fresh air."

Ginny blushed slightly at his description and Harry squeezed her hand.

"Azkaban was terrible. It was one giant cloud of depression after another. And so cold and lifeless." His eyes were actually glistening at the memory. "Coming to live with your family.' He choked slightly and let out a grunt to clear his throat.

Ginny shifted a little closer to Harry on the couch. He put his arm around her, and she snuggled in a little more.

"I remember it was about my third day there, and your mum had finally let me into the sitting room with you all. Probably something to do with you attacking me with cleaning spells and brush-." He cut himself off again. "Anyways. I smelt and looked much better. And I was laying down beside the couch and fell asleep and had a nightmare that I was still back in my cell. I must have been whimpering or something, because you woke me up."

The picture of it came to Harry's mind as he was saying it. He could imagine Ginny cooing over the upset dog, her family surrounding the two of them in a warm sitting room. A roaring fire, a few of her brothers playing chess. Her mum knitting one of the scarfs he'd seen her and Ron wearing.

Ginny wiped a stray tear away from her face. Hating that he was making her emotional in a room of three people, who could easily see how she was reacting.

"You were petting me and scratching me behind the ear and telling me that everything was okay." Sirius smiled endearingly at her. "You are a wonderful person Ginny."

Harry and Remus were entirely quiet. All three of them seemed to be waiting for her to say something, but she was desperately fighting the urge to let out a wail and wrap her arms around him in forgiveness. Instead she determinedly bit her lip and met his eye, giving him a nod of acknowledgement.

Sirius took it. He'd been around her for three years, and knew the toll having six older brothers took on her ability to express herself. She'd been hiding romance novels and tucking Teen Witch magazines under her mattress for years. Hell, she'd buried her head in his fur on more than one occasion to block irrational tears from her brothers.

Harry moved the conversation on from there. "Once you are cleared you are going to go back to your house though?"

Sirius pulled himself together. "Yes. Then I can completely gut the place as well." He gave a shiver. "Hated that house. There are horrible artifacts all over the place, and past House Elf heads mounted on the wall."

"Sirius actually used to spend most of his summers at your fathers house." Remus chimed in.

"Really?" Harry perked up.

"Yeah. As much as my parents would allow me. And they'd really only insist on my being home for about a week during the summers." Sirius smiled. "Flea and Mia were pretty old when they had James, so he didn't have any siblings, and they needed someone to entertain him." He laughed.

"Then he properly moved in when he was sixteen." Remus said.

"Yeah. The Potters were great. Then when I was of age my Uncle Alphard passed away and left me some money, so I moved out, but went back for dinner at least once a week until they passed away too." he said sadly. "They were so looking forward to being grandparents. But when they passed it was within hours of each other. Kind of sweet really."

"They had a good long life together." Remus nodded. "It is just so unfortunate that James and Lily had to join them so soon after."

The gloom settled around the room again.

"Is Dumbledore supposed to come here when he gets back?" Ginny asked once her emotions had settled down.

"I very much doubt that this will all get settled in one meeting." Remus spoke up. "But yes, I believe he will stop in to give Sirius an update."

"I'm surprised he didn't go there first thing this morning." Ginny thought aloud.

"I asked him to wait." Sirius said.

"What?" Ginny asked.

"Why?" Harry wondered.

"Felt like I owed you kids an explanation before the papers picked it up." Sirius mumbled and looked down at his trousers. Behaving in a manner much to young for his years.

"Oh..."

"Thanks." Harry said, unsure.

The four of them sat there silently for another minute before Ginny cleared her throat.

"We should probably get some of our assignments looked over." She told the two men. "We did miss our morning classes." She looked over to Harry, asking with her eyes whether he wanted to stay there, or head out with her.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Probably should make an attempt." He looked back between the other two. "But we'll be back. Um. Tomorrow?"

"Excellent." Sirius beamed. "And if there's anything... I mean." He stood up as they two did. "Just, please don't hesitate to ask me anything."

Harry simply nodded and gave him a tight smile. They were trying to figure out their relationship and weren't quite sure what they would be to each other.

Once on the other side of the door and down the corridor a bit Ginny's shoulders lost some of their tension.

"Entirely awkward." She shook her head. "And emotional."

"It's bound to get less like that over time, right?" He asked, half knowing the answer already.

"I'm sure that by Christmastime we'll be making jokes about how my dog is your... uncle." She smiled.

"Godfather." Harry mindlessly corrected.

Ginny giggled. "Dogfather."

Harry let out a chuckle too. He tugged on her hand to stop her walking down the corridor. He pulled her close and she sunk into his embrace, resting her head on his chest.

"Thanks for being there." He whispered into her hair.

"Right back at you." She told him, her face still buried into his shirt.

He was so comfortable standing there with her. The thought of having to go into the Gryffindor common room and answer a million questions from Hermione was daunting, and Harry would rather just find some place to hide out with Ginny for longer.

Cuddling up in a bed with her sounded like a dream right then.

"Urgh." Ginny let out a groan. "We have to go back to Gryffindor."

"Maybe there's a chance Hermione will be in the Library." Harry sounded both doubtful, and hopeful about that.

Ginny giggled and wrapped her arms around him to hug him a little bit longer. She let out a sigh as he just held her. It felt so nice just to have her in his arms.

"I love you." She said to him tiredly.

With her head tucked against him the way it was she didn't see his eyebrows disappear into his fringe at her words. Nor did she seem to hear or feel his heart beat pick up.


	7. Anything

"Hey Neville?" Harry caught the attention of his best mate as they were getting ready for the day. Ron, Dean and Seamus were all occupying the bathroom. "Your family is like, prominent, or whatever in society and the like, right?"

"What, like. Do we have a seat on the Wizengamut?" He asked him confused.

"Well. So Longbottom. The name, it's one of those old pureblood names right?" Harry was trying to figure out how he was meant to deal with his upcoming inheritance, and while people like Remus and Dumbledore might be able to offer him some guidance, and he trusted them, he wanted to know more about what it all meant in terms he could understand. Thus, Neville would be a good source if he too was going to be going through the same sort of deal when he came of age.

"Yeah it is. But we aren't lush like the Malfoy's and the Greengrass'. And the standings in high society are pretty much determined by how much gold you have to throw around." He answered distractedly as he pulled his socks on.

"Right." Harry pulled his cloak on. "And. You don't have any kind of inheritance, or a seat on the Wizengamut waiting for you when you turn of age?"

His friend looked up from his shoes then and a smile of understanding passed over his face. "Starting to worry about that are you?"

Harrys shoulders slumped. "You knew too?"

"Knew what?"

"That I was coming into all that. Lordships, seats being held for the Potter descendant and all that?" He exasperated.

"I mean. I assumed. Potter is one of those affluent names." He offered. "You didn't know?"

"Who would have told me?" Harry asked as Ron walked back into the room. "I grew up with my mum's sister, and she didn't like my dad, nor was she interested in finding anything out about him."

"Really?" Ron asked. "Did she know about you?"

Harry turned to him. "What? That I was born? Pretty sure she found out before she nearly tripped over me on her doorstep after I'd been dumped there." He grumbled grabbing his book bag. He was in a foul mood now. He didn't wait for a clarifying response from Ron, he just headed out.

All night he'd been thinking over everything he'd learned yesterday.

Sirius seemed like he was alright, but the offer to come and live with him once he was cleared was something he didn't know about. He certainly didn't know him well enough to make that decision right then. They also didn't know if he was going to be a free man anytime soon as they hadn't heard anything from Dumbledore after their morning meeting.

It would be nice to hear more stories about his parents. Remus had told him some, but he was still his Professor and had maintained a certain amount of distance between them on the personal level. Sirius would have all kinds of stories about his grandparents too.

The Lordship and inheritance bit was weird too. It truly bothered him that no one had mentioned it to him before yesterday, and apparently everyone knew about it. Even his best friend, and his girlfriend.

He could understand Ginny assuming he'd known, but Neville had seen the state of his clothes when he first started attending school. All of his weekend clothes had been Dudley's at some point, and it wasn't like he had been trying to make a fashion statement with them.

Harry couldn't help but think that some of this onus was on himself too. He hadn't looked into his fathers family and there must have been plenty of information he could find out about the paternal side of his family.

He didn't want to go down to the Great Hall this morning and be surrounded by a ton of people. Even the thought of being with his friends right then wasn't a particularly pleasing one. So he headed straight for Remus' suite and knocked on the door.

There was no answer.

He stared at the door and chewed on his tongue a bit.

Remus might have been down at the Great Hall, but Sirius Black would still be there. He wouldn't open the door however. Harry looked up and down the hall to see if anyone was coming and tried the doorknob but it was locked.

He put his head up to the door and knocked again. "Sirius?"

The door knob turned in his hand, being forced from the other side, and the door opened just a crack. He pushed it open just far enough for him to slip in and shut it immediately behind him.

Sirius stood there with his hands in his pockets, rocking back on the balls of his feet, with a happy, but surprised and slightly uncomfortable smile on his face. "Glad you came back."

"I guess I have some more questions for you that I didn't ask yesterday." Harry looked around the room. He saw some sheets that were rumpled on the couch and the tea cups from last night were on the counter, along with a bottle of some kind of liquor. Clothes were draped over the chairs and on the floor.

It looked a mess.

"Ah. We were trying to find something that would fit me." Sirius seemed to notice the mess just then.

"It's fine." Harry assured him. "Did he bring you anything for breakfast? Did you want me to run down to the kitchen?"

"We've got some eggs and toast that a House Elf brought. More than I could eat by myself if you want to." He gestured to the table, then rushed over to it and piled the clothes into his arms and tossing the whole load of them unceremoniously into Remus' room. "There."

Harry took a seat as Sirius picked up the breakfast food from the coffee table and an extra plate and divided it up.

"You not sleep okay?" He asked, pointing to just below his own eye.

"Had a bit of trouble with that last night, yeah." He picked up a fork and played with his eggs. "I was wondering." He was wondering so many things, he didn't know where to start. "You were good friends with both my parents? Or just my dad?"

Sirius gave him a sad, wistful expression. "Both. In the end. James and I were basically inseparable since our first Hogwarts Express ride." He took a bite of his toast and swallowed it down before continuing. "He was the reason I asked the hat to put me in Gryffindor. My family came from a long line of Slytherins." Sirius smiled at the memory. "He pulled out a list of the Hogwarts school rules and we started planning on how best to break every single on of them. Managed it too. And." He puffed out his chest jokingly. "Only got detention for less than a quarter of what we did."

Harry had heard his dad had a gang of friends that he went around bending and breaking the rules with. Snape used to go on how pompous his dad had been with an over inflated ego. Then when Professor Lupin showed up in his third year he gave him a more honest impression of how his dad had been.

Neville and Hermione weren't exactly the rule breaking type. Harry wondered if he had made friends with someone willing to get up to mischief like that if he would have been up to the task.

"James had a thing for Lily right from the off." He waggled his eyebrows at Harry. "Made a complete ass of himself trying to get her attention." He chuckled, then cringed at some memory. He shook his head and kept that thought to himself. "She started coming around to him in our sixth year."

He'd heard that bit before, about how she'd not liked him at first. "And you and she were friends?"

"She was always pretty nice to me. Nice to everyone actually. Even ol'Snivillus."

"Who?" Harry asked.

"You'd know him as Professor Snape." Sirius rolled his eyes.

Harry's jaw dropped. "She was friends with Snape?" Snape was such a miserable person. How his mum could have been friends with him he didn't get. She was supposedly one of the nicest people there had been according to the stories he'd heard. He hadn't thought for a moment that her being nice translated to her being nice to _everyone_.

"Until the end of her fifth year. She was really the only friend he had. They'd known each other before school apparently. Then he did something unforgivable and that was the end of that."

"Wait. You mean after she stopped being friends with Snape, she started being interested in my dad?" He asked with disgust. His implication being apparent.

Sirius choked on the sip of coffee he'd just taken. "No!" He coughed. "There was absolutely no way she was." He shivered. "Involved. Like that with Snape." He made a cat face.

Harry laughed at him in relief. "Okay. Good."

"I think they were just childhood friends, and Snape was a little too obsessed with her. That swung pretty hard the other way after she stopped hanging around him. He fell in with the Death Eater crowd after that."

"He's a Death Eater?"

"Was." He corrected. "So far as I know he went to Dumbledore before Voldemort fell. I don't know the whole story."

"But."

"Look. Harry. I probably shouldn't have told you that." Sirius looked worried. "And you have class in a minute."

"But."

"How about I write some stuff down for you?" Sirius offered.

Harry frowned in confusion. "Like what?"

"Like, what I remember about J- your parents?" He explained. "I've got all day locked up in here, and I don't know what's going to happen with the Ministry in regards to me, so it might be a good idea to get it all down for you."

"You don't think that they'll expunge your record?" Harry asked. The Ministry had Peter Pettigrew's body now, didn't they? And that should have been enough to remove his wanted status. It was the Ministry of Magic, wouldn't they have some way to figure out the truth?

"We won't know until we know." He shook his head.

From his demeanor Sirius believed that there was a very good chance that he wouldn't get off. And Harry hadn't considered that he might have been thrown back into Azkaban, or Kissed by a Dementor.

Potions class didn't seem that important to him now.

"Hey. Nothing is going to happen to me today." Sirius told him seriously. "You need to get to class. And you should probably show your face at lunch with your school mates. Come back later if you have a free period or something. We'll talk more. I promise."

Harry nodded solemnly and picked up his bag, looking back at Sirius with a nod before he left.

()()()

"You sure he didn't tell you if he'd be missing another class?" Hermione asked her.

Ginny ground her teeth. This wasn't the first time she'd asked. Like she was Harry's keeper or something. "No. I assume I know where he is, so do you, but I don't know if he is coming or not."

They were all at their usual stations in the dungeons for Potions class, and her station was right across from where Harry normally stood. Except he wasn't there, and class was due to start in just under a minute. Snape was a stickler for tardiness and he'd get a detention for sure if he didn't show up on time, but if he missed another class he'd not only get a detention, he'd fall behind and have to spend his free time trying to catch up, when there were a few other things on his plate right then.

With about five seconds left before the start of class he flew through the door and went right to his station. Ginny let out a sigh of relief.

He looked a little rattled, but she knew from Ron and Neville that he hadn't slept well. That she could tell from the bags under his eyes as well.

"We are starting in on our more time intensive potions." Snape stalked into the classroom at exactly 9:00 and went straight to the front of the class. "The potions you've created thus far have been accomplished inside the span of your one or two hour classes. Now that you are supposedly more capable, you will be each choosing a potion that will take one week or longer to create."

Ginny had her back to Snape and was writing down her notes on what their assignment was to be and happened to glance up to see Harry glaring daggers at their professor.

She looked behind her to see if it was maybe some other student there that he was trying to murder telepathically, but no. He looked like he was completely furious with Snape about something. Glancing over to Hermione she saw that she'd noticed the same thing.

They each offered wide eyes and a subtle shrug to say that neither of them knew the reason behind this and returned to copying down their assignment.

"Something the matter Mr. Potter?" Snape asked loudly, drawing everyone to look up from their notebooks and look between the two.

"No sir." Harry replied through clenched teeth.

"Then perhaps you can follow the lead of your fellow classmates and write down your assignment."

She watched his jaw tighten and he reached down into his book bag and angrily pulled out his supplies. She turned back to see Snape narrowing his eyes at him before he returned to listing off some of the books they might want to consult to find appropriate information for their accompanying essays.

Ginny assumed he'd gone to talk to Sirius instead of come down to breakfast. Ron said he'd been asking Neville about everything that came with having the 'Potter' name, but how that would turn into something that would cause him to suddenly hate Snape with a passion she didn't know.

Snape wasn't the nicest person in the world, particularly to his house's rivals the Gryffindors, but he didn't do more than sneer or dock a few house points here and there in terms of being malicious.

He set them all to work with properly harvesting potions ingredients for re-stocking the supply cupboards he went over to Harry. "Something the matter Potter?" He growled at him quietly.

Harry pursed his lips and shook his head once.

"If you are having some sort of personal crisis I suggest you head up to the nurse, otherwise knock off that attitude." He ordered.

Harry stood up straight and looked him dead in the eye, then purposefully looked down to the mans left forearm, and back again, but said nothing.

There was a subtle change in the professors body language then. He stepped back slightly, and something of an understanding passed over his eyes. "Get to work." Snape ordered, with less aggression that he'd had and then returned to the front of the class.

Hermione looked as lost with that transaction as Ginny felt, but Harry got to work on cultivating and preparing his wolfsbane so they set to do their task too. He didn't look to be in a sharing mood, and even if he was, the Potions class was not a space for conversation.

Harry didn't wait for them when the class was dismissed. He stormed out of there as fast as possible.

Ginny felt slightly rejected at that. Something had set him off and he wasn't sharing. She'd had to hold back yesterday when she was trying to get something, anything, out of him about his home life situation. Attempting to pry into his feelings two days in a row seemed like nagging, and she didn't want to annoy him.

"Has." She started to ask Hermione if he'd been standoffish about things before, but didn't want to talk about him behind his back either.

Hermione was too intuitive to let her unasked question slide. "I haven't known him to be like this before, but clearly something big is on his mind and he's trying to deal with it. He's a pretty big introvert." She stared after him with a worried expression.

"Trouble in paradise?" Malfoy came up beside Ginny and knocked her arm with his elbow.

"Mind your own business, Malfoy." Hermione snapped at him.

"I wasn't talking to you." He sneered at her. "I was talking to the Weaslette here." He turned back to her, keeping in step with her as they headed up the stairs. "You know, this is what happens when you try for something serious with someone above your station."

"Are you suggesting I ditch him and start slumming it with you?" Ginny asked dryly. She was rather unconcerned with anything that he had to say. He was an instigator and got his kicks by aggravating those around him to the point of them being the ones over reacting and getting in trouble.

"Only you would call Malfoy Manor, which is the size of a palace, a slum. And I don't have to share it with the dozen people that you have in your hovel." He retorted.

Ginny stopped on the steps and turned to him in thought. "You mean it's just you in a huge manor all by yourself?" She asked honestly. "That sounds depressing. No wonder you never shut up when you have an audience." She shook her head and continued her ascent, ignoring the snickers from those that had been listening in.

"Hey. You should consider it a favor that I'm even talking to you." He spat.

"I don't want your favor, go bother someone else." Ginny waved him off in dismissal. He was causing her delay and she wanted to get to DADA in time to at least talk to Harry a little bit before class started and the classroom was now in sight.

"Hey!" He grabbed her arm forcefully. "Don't treat me like-"

"Get your hands off her!" Ron yelled from across the hall. He and Neville were coming down the other side of the corridor.

Malfoy looked over to Ron sharply, but tightened his grip on her. He looked pleased about getting that kind of reaction from his manhandling.

Ginny narrowed her eyes at him. She'd been manhandled before, tussling with her brothers hadn't been all tickle fights, but he was holding on to her like she was his property. She clenched her fist preparing to swing it at his upturned nose when a spell shot out and hit him square in the chest and he was knocked backwards, taking her down with him.

Luckily he broke her fall, and she heard the satisfactory groan and gasp of pain that her landing on his chest caused.

"Harry!" Hermione shrieked behind her and she was pulled back to her feet and her vision immediately obscured by a dark cloak in front of her face before she had time to properly register her surroundings. She felt like she was a rag doll being tossed around.

"Don't you ever touch her again." Harry growled dangerously.

He had pulled Ginny up and held her behind him protectively. She caught her breath and saw he was still pointing his wand at Malfoy's chest while he was down on the ground with the wind knocked out of him. Ron was standing on his other side, wand also drawn.

"Harry. Ron. Stop it!" Hermione pleaded. "You'll get in trouble!"

"I'm afraid they already are." Professor Lupin came out of the classroom. "Potter, Weasley. There is no magic allowed in the corridors. Twenty points from you Mr. Potter, and for drawing your wand, ten points from you Mr. Weasley."

"But he-"

"Didn't you see-"

"Stop." The Professor cut them off. "I heard what happened, but it was between Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Weasley, not the two of you." He looked down at Malfoy. "Do you need the nurse or are you alright to attend class?"

"You aren't going to give them detention? They attacked me!" Malfoy protested, springing up to his feet.

"Quite right you are! Attacking a student does require a detention. Right then, Weasley, Potter you will be serving detention with me after dinner tonight. And Mr. Malfoy, you will be with Professor McGonagall tomorrow."

"Me? What did I do? I was the one attacked." Malfoy argued.

"Ms. Weasley." Lupin turned to her. "Did Mr. Malfoy put his hands on you?"

Harry stepped aside so she could look at the professor when she answered. She wanted to growl at both Ron and Harry for losing their heads and going after stupid Malfoy instead of letting her deal with him. But it was too late to stop them now. The only thing she could do was get Malfoy a detention.

"He did professor."

"And did he injure you in any way?"

"I believe there is a bruise forming on my arm from his unwanted and aggressive physical attempt to gain my attention." She explicated.

"Alright. Then, as I said, detention with Professor McGonagall tomorrow Mr. Malfoy." He turned and went back into the classroom, his students following him in. Malfoy gave her and Harry a hard stare before going into the classroom as well.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked her gently.

She hadn't realized he was still holding tight to his side, and thus how close their faces would be when she turned her eyes up to his.

She'd wanted to say 'no'. No, she wasn't okay with he and Ron charging in like she was some damsel in distress. And no, she didn't like that he'd bolted out of potions class to leave her and Hermione concerned. But he was giving her these sad puppy dog eyes that were melting her heart. Mentally she squared her shoulders and found her determination. She wasn't some gushy girl that he could turn into goo with his charm, whether it was intentional or not.

She went up onto her toes and touched her lips to his in an attempt to not have to answer. She let her kiss linger for three heart beats before pulling back and walking out of his grasp and into the classroom.

()()()

Dumbledore had arrived early at the Ministry. Minister Fudge was not a confident man and he felt that speaking to him about the potential outcome from today's meeting after the evidence was given would only help. Fudge may have felt he'd been railroaded by the information presented, and he had proven in the past to react poorly to anything that would make the Ministry look like they'd been in the wrong.

Dumbledore approached the secretary outside the Ministers office and announced his request to meet with the Minister. The door to the office had opened immediately to show an anxious Cornelius Fudge standing there, as though he had been waiting for the man before him to show.

"Dumbledore. What a pleasant surprise. How considerate of you to stop by before the meeting. Please, come in. We have time for a tea before we head down." He rushed back to his desk as the Headmaster closed the door to the office and took up the seat on the opposite side of the desk.

"Thank you." He accepted the cup of hot tea that hovered over to him. "Yes, I thought it best to discuss this situation with you ahead of time. I'm afraid it may turn out that the Minister Bagnold was quite in over her head at the time of Sirius Black's imprisonment." He said carefully. "Everyone was then, though weren't they?" He sipped his cup and watched the minister's reaction to that.

"Yes. Yes. The Minister Bagnold. She certainly was dealing with quite a lot at that time. Rounding up all of the Death Eaters. Separating them between who had been under the Unforgivable, and who hadn't. Treacherous business." He settled down into his seat.

"And to all it had looked like Mr. Black was the one to cast the blasting curse. His wand was confiscated right away however, so we will know the last spell he cast." He said calmly. "We have to wonder how much the guilty managed to get away with at that time, when the innocent were being put away. Had Mr. Black even been checked for a Dark Mark do you wonder?"

Cornelius tapped a finger nervously on his desk. "I have received the memory of when Sirius Black was brought into custody." He admitted. "He had not been checked for a mark before being taken away to Azkaban."

Dumbledore gave him a dramatic sigh. "Well. If all turns out that the past administration had been in the wrong, I can only imagine what the papers will say." He stated pointedly.

"They'll have a field day!" The Minister burst out. "Falsely accusing a man to Azkaban for 12 years, and having him escape, and yet he hadn't even stood trial and had a proper sentencing. They'll be ruthless."

"Well. The evidence of his innocence was only just brought to light." Dumbledore commented. "And I am sure that the people will be grateful about how their Minister is confident enough to own up to the mistakes of the past administration, in the chaotic times that these mistakes were made, and correct them."

"Don't think I don't see what you're doing Dumbledore." Cornelius pointed at him. "You are trying to spin this and try and make it a good idea to let him off."

"You said yourself that he was never actually tried and sentenced. If you happened to mention that to the papers before the medical examiner is questioned, and before the wand is tested, then they will know that you intend to either free a wrongfully accused man, or have the proper procedure followed as it should have been."

The minister looked thoughtful at that. "It would call into question all of the cases from that time." He said thinking out loud.

"It would not. Those on Voldemort's side stood trial to determine their loyalties. Sirius Black did not. It was circumstantial evidence that got him locked away."

The squirrely man looked from Dumbledore's periwinkle blue eyes to the clock behind his head.

"Blast you." He slammed his tea cup down and stood. "Come. We'll head down and speak to the reporters now."

Dumbledore said nothing else. Any comment at this point would have made the Minister feel even more manipulated.

There was no doubt in the older man's mind that there had been a few 'former Death Eaters' in the Ministers attendance after the meeting yesterday discussing potential ramifications of even allowing the evidence Department of Magical Law Enforcement Head Amelia Bones was collecting could bring to light. No doubt Lucius Malfoy was vehemently against this due to how it was dragging that sordid past back to light. He had worked quite hard to make people forget about how he'd been 'Imperiused to do awful things'.

Malfoy had been as arrogant and pompous as he'd taught his son to be, with less of the whining however. Even Abraxas Malfoy, Lucius' father, had his nose stuck in the air. That family had a long history of making bad decisions and paying their way out of it.

When the reached level ten and saw the reporters waiting outside Courtroom ten. Dumbledore slowed to be a few paces back from the Minister as the politician adopted his shoulder backed important walk towards the crowd, ready to give them his statement.

()()

"State your name and position for the record." Minister Fudge requested.

"Healer Jackson Trinklewas, St. Mungo's lead Medical Examiner." The man in the middle of the courtroom replied calmly. He was nearing late forties with a receding hair line and looked like he had once been quite fit, but had grown soft around the middle. He was also fairly relaxed given his current location before the Wizengamut.

"And what have been your findings on the late Peter Pettigrew?"

"I have found that one Peter Pettigrew suffered from a cervical fracture. From the state of the body and the information about how the deceased was interned before being brought to me his death does coincide with the claim that he passed away three years ago."

"Cervical fracture. Three years ago." The Minister repeated. "And what about the state of his body drew your conclusion to this timeline?"

"The state of decomposition. Insect activity on the body was very limited. The coloration of the cadaver was that of one who had passed five or less years passed. If this man had died when his death certificate read he would have been significantly more decomposed."

"Even if he had been in his Animagus form at the time of death, and for the duration of his being buried?" It seemed Cornelius was not going to take any chances with what might be a skewed timeline.

"No Minister. Whether buried as a rat or a man the corpse would reflect the same amount of deterioration, just as any physical changes to an Animagus, such as a wound of sorts, would appear once the human form is returned."

"Then on the charge of Sirius Black murdering Peter Pettigrew on November 1st, 1981 he is not guilty. All those in agreement?" The minister asked to the committee.

There was a majority consent.

"Thank you Healer Trinklewas for your testimony." The Minister dismissed him. "Next will be to see if Sirius Black was the one to cast the blasting spell that blew a crater in the street, killing eleven Muggles in the aftermath. Director Bones, you have retrieved the wand from Azkaban?"

She stood up from her seat. "I have Minister." She pulled out a simple cloth bag and retrieved a thirteen inch Wormwood wand to present to the assembly.

"And no one has used this wand since he was first incarcerated."

"No Minister. It was in a locked safe with his cell number and that safe had not been opened since 1981. Auror Kingsley Shaklebot and Auror Corbin Yaxley have attested to that fact. The Priori Incantatem has not yet been performed on the wand."

The Minister took a steadying breath. "I will call upon Albus Dumbledore to do the honors before us today of cast the Priori Incantatem and let it be known to all of us what the last spells were cast."

Dumbledore retrieved his wand and took hold of the wand in question. With a steady hand he cast the spell and it was revealed to the court that the last spell that Sirius Black had cast before his incarceration had not been a blasting curse, it had been a contraceptive charm.

There was a loud 'ha' from one of the members in the back, and Albus found himself fighting back a smile as well. It was well known that Sirius Black had been quite the Lothario, but to know that the last spell he had cast before being hauled off to prison was a spell one used moments before the act of lovemaking. The Headmaster was not so rigid that he could not see the humor in that.

"Well then." The Minister tried to pick up in the same manner as before the spell had been revealed but was having a little bit of trouble. There were a few members in the audience seats trying to contain their smiles, and the reporters weren't even trying.

"On the crime of using magic in front of Muggles and casting the blasting curse that resulted in eleven Muggle deaths it appears that Sirius Black is not guilty. All those in agreement?"

Majority consensus was in agreement.

"Very well." Fudge cleared his throat. "We now move on to whether or not he was a Death Eater." He paused for the rest of the court room to return to the seriousness of the issue. "His hearing has been reviewed by use of a Pensive and it was noted that Sirius Black did not bare the Dark Mark." He again waited for the room to drink in that information. "With that I posit that on the charge of Sirius Black being a Death Eater, he is not guilty. All those that agree?"

Again, there was majority consent.

"It appears that the Ministry at the end of the last war was in quite the chaotic state." The Minister announced. "Many were charged with being on the losing side of the war. Some were only in that position due to force from the Unforgivable Curse. It is upsetting that one person was wrongfully imprisoned, but it is the Ministries job to stand up for its people. It is with a grave heart that I announce the wrongful incarceration of Sirius Black."

A single lit wand rose into the air at the Ministers speech. The wand belonged to Lucius Malfoy.

"Minister." He cut in without being recognized first. "We still must discuss the circumstances to how Mister Black managed to escape Azkaban." Then he looked directly at Dumbledore. "And where he might be now."

Dumbledore turned to the Minister. "If I may?" The Minister inclined his head allowing him to answer.

"Sirius Black's whereabouts have not been announced because he was thought to be a wanted man. I believe the Minister was about to announce that he has been cleared of all the charges laid upon him when he was sent to prison?" He waited for the Minister to nod in assent again, accompanied by most of the courtroom. "Then do you purpose Mr. Malfoy that it is within the Wizengamut's power to keep a trace on all of it's law abiding citizens?"

Lucius Malfoy sneered at Dumbledore before schooling his features. "Of course not." he said steadily. "I may be simply curious as to how this individual, wanted by all of wizarding Britain until not five minutes ago, managed to evade capture. It will give us insight into how to strengthen our judicial and penitentiary practices." He recovered.

"Ah. An excellent point. And as this has been a one time occurrence I believe that Mister Black will be able to help us in those regards." Dumbledore smiled. "This one exception is something that will be discussed with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Head so that one such occurrence does not happen again. It is not something that will be revealed to the court or the reporters at large as such issues would be privileged information. If anyone here would wish to know, then please feel free to sit on the council for Azkaban which meets at the prison itself once every other month, or go through the rigorous Auror Training that requires a rotational guard duty at the prison stronghold."

"Will there be no charges laid due to his escape?" Wizengamut member Tiberius Ehnes asked.

Amelia Bones answered. "We cannot lay charges against an individual for escaping wrongful imprisonment. That individual could be seen as a prisoner of war, and such a person cannot have criminal charges placed upon them. Reparation on the other hand will be something we will have to talk to Mister Black himself about."

"Reparations?!" Under Secretary Delores Umbridge asked.

"There were reparations to each one of the wrongfully accused Death Eaters for damages. Sirius Black was wrongfully accused and spent twelve years in prison for it. The reparations that were given during the last war stood at one Galleon per day of imprisonment. To that end Sirius Black is due three thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine Galleons." She announced.

The room was silent at that. He had been in prison for nearly 4000 days. Surrounded by soul sucking Dementors.

"All those who agree Sirius Black is to be cleared of all charges and awarded the reparations, raise your wands." The Minister requested.

All wands were raised. There were a few that were done some begrudgingly but raised none the less.

()()()

Harry was confused about Ginny.

She had kissed him right before they went into their DADA class, but then didn't so much as glance at him the whole way through the lesson. Even when he reached over and took her hand. Usually something that caused her to look over and give him at least a little smirk. But she had simply given his hand a small squeeze and pulled away.

He thought over what he might have done wrong.

He'd heard Ron call out in the hallway, and seeing Malfoy gripping her arm like that he'd acted on instinct shooting a hex at him. Ginny getting knocked over was not what he'd intended, but he'd pulled her to her feet fast enough.

Maybe she was just really angry with Malfoy and thinking that through?

What really bothered him right then was that he'd just had things piling up to be brooding about; Snape was a Death Eater, the business with his surname, figuring out a relationship with Sirius Black, and now Ginny.

She'd said those three little world altering words to him last night, but he didn't know if it was an instinctual reaction from her being surrounded by people who said it all the time, like a 'oh, you did this thing for me, thank-you, I love you' or a 'you mean the world to me and I truly love you' kind of thing.

He really hoped it was the latter.

He'd been so angry after learning what he had from Sirius and then having to face Snape, maybe there was something else that happened in Potions that he hadn't noticed?

When class ended Ginny and Hermione both left together rather abruptly, leaving him to turn to Ron for answers.

"What's going on with them?" He asked. Ron was her brother. He understood the little looks that came to her face better than anyone.

Ron gave a sigh and let his shoulders sag. "Mate, you have so much to learn about her." He actually gave a little snicker.

"Me? What did I do? I was... defending her." He postulated. "Don't girls like that?"

Ron actually winced at that. "Friendly piece of advice. If you ever plan on having children down the line, don't say that to her." He patted Harry on the shoulder. "If it helps, looks like I'm in the doghouse a bit with Hermione about getting in trouble."

"Yeah, but that was for pulling your wand in the corridor." He said distractedly shoving his books back in his bag. "Ginny wouldn't care about that." Harry looked around the room. Neville seemed to have run out of the room pretty quick too, but Remus was still there. Harry leaned in to whisper to Ron. "I'm going to have lunch with Sirius."

Ron's eyebrows went up, but then he looked interested. "Mind if I join you? Could probably give the girls some time to calm down."

()()

Harry knocked on the suite door and announced himself. Sirius let him in immediately again.

"Ah. Ron!" Sirius beamed, then his smile faltered a bit. "You aren't mad at me too, are you?"

Ron gave him a crooked grin. "Nah. I mean. It's weird and all, but I've talked it through with my parents and Hermione, and I get where you were coming from. Plus." He shrugged. "You took care of the Death Eater that was sleeping in my room."

Sirius looked relieved at that. "No ladies wanting to join you here?"

Ron snorted. "Well there was an altercation with a certain pompous asshole, and Harry jumped right in and played knight in shining armor to Ginny."

Sirius barked a laugh at that.

"What?" Harry asked, not understanding why Ron too had joined in laughing. Or why Sirius would immediately find that funny.

"Ginny must be mad at you about that. Word to the wise, don't try making it up to her with jewelry or something. She might throw her Bat-Bogey hex at you."

That struck Harry. "So she's mad because I didn't let her deal with it?" He concluded. "But. But he had a hold of her arm."

"I know mate." Ron told him. "That was what made me jump in too, but she hates it when she thinks people assume she can't take care of herself."

"Stubborn little minx you're saddled with there." Sirius patted him on the back.

"Well. Do I apologize or something?" He asked in a panic. "That's normally like, flowers and chocolate, right?"

Ron and Sirius both stopped laughing and stared at him then. "Does she seem like a flowers and chocolate girl to you?" Sirius asked him honestly.

Harry's spirits sank even further. "No." He pouted.

"You'll think of something." Sirius told him. "In the meantime." he went over to the coffee table and picked up a notebook. "I've been writing some stuff down. I'm not really sure if it'll make sense to you. I'm a bit scatterbrained to be honest. Each page is basically some anecdote from a different year of my life pre-imprisonment." He shrugged and handed it to him. "But, all stuff that you might find funny, or interesting."

Harry felt a rush of emotions for this man as he looked down at the red notebook he was being handed. "Thank you." He whispered, accepting it like it was a precious and breakable gem.

Ron cleared his throat awkwardly. "Got any food in this place?"

Sirius pulled together a platter of food for the three of them to pick at while he and Ron regaled Harry with tales from the Burrow and they all talked about Quidditch.

When the two boys were getting ready to leave for their next class Harry remembered. "Did Dumbledore come and see you last night?"

Sirius nodded. "He did. And he is still at the Ministry today. They were having Wormtail looked at by a medical examiner, and getting my wand from Azkaban." He told them. "That is all we know right now."

"Wormtail?" Ron squinted at the name.

"Scabbers. Wormtail is what we called him in school." Sirius explained.

()()()

Ginny knew she was being irrational.

Harry had been in a weird mood, and he'd reacted to the situation in front of him.

But she was stubborn, and he knew that about her. Hermione was on her side in being angry at Harry and Ron for how they reacted. Though, she was just angry that they'd used magic in the corridors and earned themselves detentions. Meanwhile Ginny was angry that they'd stopped her from gaining the satisfaction of punching that arrogant snot in the nose.

It would have felt really good too.

It had seemed to snap Harry out of the bad mood he'd been in. At least he'd tried to be somewhat affectionate with her in DADA. They'd had separate classes all afternoon and she hadn't seen him since before lunch.

"You don't have to apologize for anything." Hermione read her mind.

"But I was basically giving him the cold shoulder. That's the same thing that had bugged me about how he'd been in Potions." She pointed out. "Bit hypocritical."

"He attacked someone in the corridor, earned himself a detention and lost house points. All because some other boy touched you on the arm." Hermione pointed out. "Even if it was Malfoy, and he deserved it. There are other ways."

"Hermione. I was about a second from using my own method of getting that leech to let go of me." Ginny sighed and leaned back in her chair.

Dinner was due to start in about twenty minutes and the two of them had been getting a jump on their assignments for the day. And Hermione was more angry at Ron that Ginny was at Harry. Apparently it didn't look good to have a prefect's boyfriend draw his wand in the corridor and get detention.

"I'm going to go put my books away." Ginny pushed back from the table and went to the aisles, bumping directly into Harry.

"Hey."

"Oh. Hi." She brightened.

"I was looking for you." He admitted.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Ron was heading to Hermione. Ginny inclined her head and started walking down the stacks of books to where she'd been heading. She stacked her books on a ledge and looked around to see if anyone was within hearing distance. "What was with you in Potions?" She shot right to the point.

Harry hesitated, there was some internal battle going on inside his head. "Not here."

"Okay." She quickly put her books back and followed him outside.

Harry took her hand and she let him pull her outside the school and found a secluded spot for them to chat against the side of the castle. He revealed to her what Sirius had told him that morning about Snape.

"He was a Death Eater?" She whispered disbelievingly. "Dumbledore has a former Death Eater teaching students?"

"That's why I was the way I was in class." Harry told her. "He'd been friends with my mum too. Then suddenly he's completely against Muggleborns for whatever reason. Apparently he turned to Dumbledore before the war ended though. That was his saving grace. But I just couldn't." He shook his head.

"No. I get it." She stared out at the lake, not seeing it as she played that over in her head. "How can everyone be okay with him being a professor?" She wondered. "There must be a record of who was a Death Eater at the ministry somewhere. Even the one's that claimed they were Imperiused, like Malfoy."

"Excuse me?" Harry had been leaning back against the stone exterior of the school beside her, but that had him standing in front of her and looking like she'd just accused him of something. "Draco Malfoy's father was a Death Eater too?"

"Harry. There are loads of students here who's parents were Death Eaters." From the look on his face he hadn't had any idea. She sighed sadly. "No one told you that either."

His lips pursed and he looked positively furious now. She'd never seen him like this. Granted she'd only known him for three months, and that whole time they'd just been playing Quidditch and snogging with out a care in the world. Now he seemed to be running so hot he was melting the snow around them.

Actually, he was melting the snow around him.

Ginny looked down at the area around his feet and the snow was quickly turning to water around him. "Harry." She panicked. He was giving off quite a lot of magic in his anger. "Harry, calm down."

"There is just so FUCKING much that I haven't been told." He said through gritted teeth.

Ginny wasn't sure what to do. He'd been mad about Snape, but this was extreme. He was looking right at her, but she knew he wasn't seeing her. He was seeing red.

"Harry? Harry!" He wasn't hearing her. She reached up to touch his cheek and she hadn't even made contact when she felt a zap. "Ow!" She looked down at her hand. There was a red welt forming. Her eyes stung from the pain, she clutched her hand to her chest in an instinctive effort to somehow heal it.

"Ginny?" That seemed to have snapped him out of it. "What happened?"

"I don't know." She said with shaky breath. "I think it was just accidental magic." Her eyes were filling with unshed tears.

"I'm so sorry!" He sounded horrified. "I don't know what happened." He moved to touch her arm, try and see the damage, but hesitated to make contact with her encase he somehow zapped her again. "Maybe we should go and see Madame Pomphrey?"

()()

"Hey! What's wrong?" Neville was in the Hospital Wing when Ginny and Harry arrived.

The both of them paused at the sight of him. He had purple blotches all over his face and arms.

"What happened to you?" Ginny asked incredulously.

"Stepped to close to a Venemous Tentacula. Don't worry about it. Only need some salve and I'll be healed up." Neville said unconcerned. "What about you?" His eyes were focused on how Ginny was holding her hand.

"Accidentally got zapped." She told him. "Where's Pomphrey?" She and Harry took the bed opposite Neville.

"She'll be back in a moment. Just mixing together the anti-toxin." He said. "How'd you get 'zapped'?"

She and Harry looked at each other. She didn't quite know the answer, and Harry looked guilty about it. Which he shouldn't have. He'd been angry and not in control of himself.

"Just accidental magic." She answered before Harry could say anything.

"What? From a first year?" Neville was puzzled.

"No. From me." Harry mumbled, gently placing his hand under her injured one, trying to inspect the damage.

"Harry." She protested. "I was the one trying to pull you out of your mood."

"Yeah. But-"

"Miss Weasley. Mister Potter." Madame Pomphrey came out of her office holding a jar for Neville. "Are you injured or visiting?"

"Ginny has an injury." Harry told her.

She bustled over to Neville and looked over at Ginny's hand speculatively, furrowed her brow for a moment and turned back to Neville. "You start applying this to the affected area's you can reach." She gave him the jar and turned around to Ginny. "This is a simple burn, should only take a few hours to heal up." She waved her wand over it, checking for any trace of magic that would reject her medicine.

Ginny sat quietly while the matron tisked and inspected. Her hand hurt quite a lot, but she directed her attention at Neville and how he was rubbing the goopy looking salve onto his purple splotches rather than focusing on her pain.

"Right then." Pomphrey went back to her office with out explanation.

"I'm so sorry Ginny." Harry whispered.

He sounded so sad about it. She'd honestly had bigger injuries sustained during his more brutal Quidditch practices, but this he was actually blaming himself for. His sad puppy dog eyes were telling her how upset he was with himself.

"Don't think on it." She told him honestly and gave him a soft kiss. "It was an accident. Why don't you go down to the Great Hall for dinner? You've got your detention tonight."

"Shit. I forgot." He groaned and looked up at the ceiling in despair.

"It's with Professor Lupin." She pointed out. "It can't be that bad."

He shook his head. "I can grab something from the kitchens if I'm running out of time. I want to stay here with you."

"Go Harry." She coaxed. "I'll get my hand fixed up in no time and head down to dinner with Neville."

Neville gave him a reassuring gesture and Harry reluctantly got up off the bed. "I guess I'll see you guys in the common room later?"

"We'll wait up for you." She verbally pushed him out of the room.

"Fine." He pouted and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Do I get a kiss too?" Neville teased brightly

"Sure!" Harry smiled and actually went over and gave his best friend a kiss on his forehead, surprising both Neville and Ginny, and being careful to avoid a purple spot.

The two injured students laughed at his antics as he left the room.

Pomphrey came out of her office a second after Harry left and applied an ointment to Ginny's burn that gave her great relief instantly and shrunk the burn to half the size. "You'll have to keep a bandage on your hand until the morning, but you should be fine to use a quill by your first class."

"Rats." Ginny smiled as the nurse wrapped up her hand.

She waited for Neville to get the salve applied to the spots he couldn't reach by the nurse and then they were both dismissed, Neville's purple splotches were slowly fading.

"So, what happened?" He asked her as they headed in the direction of the Great Hall.

"Has he talked to you about how he just found out about his Potter legacy and all that?" She asked him. He nodded. "Well, he didn't know about the legacy of some of the other students, namely Malfoy and his fathers role in the last war. It kind of set him off to find out about."

"Man." Neville sighed. "The guy can't catch a break lately. His head must be spinning. You know, he asked me about the Longbottom name this morning and what that all meant."

"Oh, good." She felt a little lighter hearing that he was asking someone he knew and trusted about it. Neville's family might not have been high up in the hierarchy of the magical world, but he'd know more about operating in that world than she or Ron would. The Weasley name hadn't carried much weight for several generations. "I'm glad he's reaching out to you."

"Yeah. But there's just so much that I guess I've taken for granted when it comes to that. I've been told about how the world works for as far back as I can remember and learned about the last war from listening to my gran gossip about it with her friends."

"And I've known that Lucius Malfoy had been a Death Eater, along with some other parents of students here, because my parents talked about it." Ginny correlated.

They'd made it to the main staircase that led to the entrance and were joined by a few other students that gave Neville some weary sideways glances that both Ginny and he snickered at.

"Luna!" Ginny saw the platinum blond hair of her childhood friend. The hair had been the first thing she noticed, the missing shoes were the next. "Why aren't you wearing shoes? Aren't your feet cold?"

Luna had her signature dreamy expression and a graceful walk as she came over to join them in their descent. "I'm not quite sure. They keep disappearing, but I'm sure they'll turn up eventually." She looked down and wiggled her toes without concern, then looked up at Neville. "Are you trying to attract the Quachitarms with your new purple complexion? I'd gather you are attractive enough without them."

"The. The Quachitarms?" Neville asked confounded.

"Yes. They're known to help one attract a mate. Not unlike the Nargles, except the Nargles are attracted to natural pheromones. The Quatchitarms will act like elven saliva and exude a sexual energy that will drive a potential mates desire." Her eyes drifted all over him. "You really don't need them."

Ginny's jaw dropped. She hadn't had many opportunities to catch up with her old friend and had forgotten how casually she told her truths and fantastical theories she and her father had cooked up. Hearing her essentially hit on Neville in such a manner was bringing it all back.

"Oh. You're blush is making the purple much more pronounced. It's a lovely shade." She turned to Ginny. "Doesn't it remind you of the lavender at home?"

Fighting back the urge to laugh hysterically at Neville's astounded and embarrassed face she simply bit her lip and nodded.

"We have an article about the Quachitarms in an old issue of the Quibbler if you'd like to learn more about how to attract them?" She offered.

"I'm good." Neville managed.

"Okay." Luna continued skipping down the stairs and humming to herself.

"You alright there?" Ginny teased.

"What was that?" Neville asked, thoroughly confused.

Ginny was about to offer an explanation for her eccentric friend but something Luna had said struck her. She rushed down the steps to catch up with her. "Luna. You can get old copies of the Quibbler?"

"Of course." She kept skipping. "Daddy keeps all the extra copies he prints off. There are several of each one he's ever printed at home."

"When did he start it? Are there any from 1981?" She asked quickly.

"He started it in 1979. There was a lot of propaganda in the Daily Prophet then building up to the precipice of the war, and people needed to know the truth." She told her in the most serious voice she'd ever heard the girl use.

"Do you think he'd be willing to part with a few of the issues from around that time? From the first issue up until around 1983?" She worried her lip.

Luna gave her a big smile that made her look slightly deranged with her doe eyed expression. "I'm sure he would be happy to."

"Wonderful!" Ginny then gave pause for a moment. "I. Can you ask him how much it would cost first though?"

"Oh. Don't worry about that. He will be just tickled pink that students are taking an interest in the rise and fall of the last dark lord. It is important that we not make the same mistake twice." She twirled her hair and stared back at Neville. "I'll owl him after dinner."

"What was that about?" Neville asked once Luna had skipped ahead of them into the hall.

"It's for Harry." She smiled. "And the rest of us I guess." she realized. "We were all babies when the last war ended, so everything we know about it is hear say. If we have the publications from then we can see what actually happened for ourselves."

"From the Quibbler?" He asked skeptically.

"Hey! I know most of it is mumbo-jumbo, but the stories that aren't about potentially made up animals hold fact." She argued with a chuckle.

"Well." Neville looked thoughtful. "Why don't we get back issued of the Daily Prophet while we're at it? They'd be more point of fact about it."

Ginny scoffed. "Depends. When did Rita Skeeter start writing crap for them?" When he looked like he didn't understand the comment she explained. "She's basically a gossip columnist that writes about what would be important things, but focuses on whatever angle bored housewives would most be interested in. The Lockhart scandal for instance. She started off writing about how he'd stolen stories and memories from the people who'd actually done what he'd taken credit for in his books, but then veered off into how he had many mistresses at the time and how devastated they were."

"Oh yeah. That was her?" Neville remembered. "I remember all of the older girls talking about how they felt bad for his girlfriends or something."

"Instead of how he'd altered the memory of his victims." She stated, proving her point. "My mum was the same way. Though it was mad."

They saw Hermione was still at the Gryffindor table and sat down with her. Ginny told her about her idea for helping Harry out with the magical history lesson and she jumped on the idea and headed to the Owlry before Ginny had even loaded up her dinner plate.

()()()

"So... I'm... I'm free?" Sirius asked awestruck.

"Just like that?" Remus snapped his fingers. "Yesterday morning he was still a wanted criminal with multiple counts against his name and now. Now he's just good to walk into the Ministry and apply for a permit or whatever?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "It took a little more than a snap of the fingers, and there is still the case of your being an unregistered Animagus." He pointed out to Sirius. "But I did make sure to point out that anything that you had done to escape your wrongful incarceration was not to be held against you."

"But. They didn't even demand to see me and get my side of the story?" Sirius asked staring off into the middle distance. "I thought for sure I would get hauled in and made to answer question after question."

"That would have required them knowing where you have been hiding for the last three years. Did you want that?" Remus pointed out and Sirius shook his head side to side with wide eyes, still processing.

"You have been evading arrest for three years. The Wizengamut recognized that there would have been no way to convince you to come in and prove your innocence, and I must say the man-hunt for you has rather fallen to the wayside in the last two years." Dumbledore told him.

"I can't remember the last time I saw one of your wanted photos." Remus thought back. They had always disturbed him.

"So what now?" Sirius asked not knowing where he should even start with trying to piece back his life. Should he go straight to Grimmauld Place from Hogwarts? And should that be right then, or tomorrow? He would have to go to Gringotts and see what if anything had been done with his accounts. He was technically Lord Black.

And Harry. He could legally adopt Harry now and get him away from that bitch Petunia and her elephant husband and child.

Sirius opened his mouth to ask some of this aloud, but it just came out as a gargled huff.

"Perhaps you should wait until it is announced to the rest of the world?" Dumbledore suggested at his loss for words. "There should be an announcement in the Evening Prophet, and another in the Daily Prophet. Word will be sent out to the Muggles as well." He patted Sirius' hand and stood. "Now then. If you gentleman will excuse me, I have missed two days worth of owls and have some work to do."

"I have to go and supervise detentions." Remus said, sounding like it was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Right. Right. Harry and Ron told me." He nodded, still dumbfounded. "I have some things to sort out." Yet he couldn't seem to think straight or figure out what to do beside sit there by the fire.

()()()

There weren't many subscribers to the Evening Prophet, but one of the few students that did receive it was, of course, Hermione Granger.

The owl carrying the letter brought it to her in the Gryffindor Common Room while she, Ginny and Neville were all occupying a table with parchment and books spread out all over it. Ginny was only reading as her writing hand was still out of commission. Hermione let out a gasp over the front page and lay it down in the middle of the table for the other two to see.

"He's a free man?!" Ginny exclaimed looking sideways at the photo of Sirius and the large title of the article.

"I can't believe that happened so fast." Neville started reading over it.

"Cleared of all charges, method of escape will be given to DMLE only, JUST UNDER FOUR THOUSAND GALLEONS?! That's it?! He was wrongfully thrown in prison for twelve years, and that is supposed to make up for it?" Hermione was outraged and gaining the attention of the other students.

"I'm pretty sure the thing he'll be most focused on is the 'cleared of all charges' bit." Neville pointed out.

Ginny chewed her lip and checked the time. There was only about twenty minutes left before curfew and she didn't have the time to go and see him, if he was even still staying in Professor Lupin's quarters. She'd been rather unsure of her feelings about it all.

Her dog had been that man. She'd told him things in confidence. But her anger had lessened the more she thought about it from his perspective. What would she have done after over a decade around Dementors and being in the emaciated state that he'd been when she found him.

Her family was happy, and warm and loving. She missed living at the Burrow and the way the whole house just hugged you when you walked in. And she missed playing with Kenneth and how when he stayed the night he'd run into her room and yell 'It's morning time!' and rip open her curtains.

Hogwarts had been great so far. The classes were interesting, she felt she was forming pretty strong bonds of friendship with Hermione and Neville. Playing proper Quidditch had been a dream come true, and so had Harry.

Like, and actual dream come true.

But despite how great Hogwarts was she was still giddy with delight at the thought of going home for Christmas and being with all her brothers and her nephew again.

Hermione's hand on top of hers brought her out of her reverie. "Are you alright?" Concern was shining through her eyes.

"Yeah." She nodded and sat back down in her chair. "Yeah, I mean, it's completely weird to find out the truth, but I've had some time to process it." She shrugged. "It'll probably give me the creeps every now and then, and I'm not going to stop lording it over him." She smirked. "Like, ever." She added thinking about different ways to make him pay for his deceit.

Another owl tapped at the window and the closest student let it in. It flew over to Hermione and she untied the scroll while Neville reached into his pocket and offered it an owl treat.

"They're going to send us the archives we asked for!" Hermione parsed. "Oh. It'll be a few different waves of them due to the weight." She nodded as she read. "Oh, that's nice. It'll be less than half their initial cost."

Ginny sucked in a breath at that and tried not to let it show on her face the weight that settled in her stomach over that.

One copy of the Daily Prophet was manageable, but this would be hundreds of copies and she didn't have that kind of money. Hermione looked like she came from a well off family, and Neville would have a vault set up for him with inheritance and such. Harry was obviously quite well off, but _she_ would have liked to be able to offer something towards the cause other than just the idea.

"Um." She worried her lip at the awkwardness she was feeling. "That's still quite a lot of money."

"Hmm." Hermione looked at her in thought. "It'll work out to about six Galleons. But maybe we can ask if the school would be interested in purchasing them to add a sort of archive section to the library."

"Or Sirius might want to chip in." Neville offered and turned to Ginny. "It is kind of for Harry after all."

"Right." Ginny said distractedly. Neither of them had made those comments knowing the real reason she'd mentioned it. She'd never had that much money. There were only a few knuts and four sickles in her purse in her trunk, and that was all going to be used up for Christmas presents on her next trip into Hogsmeade. The Weasleys always did homemade gifts for each other at Christmas, so it was just her new friends she had wanted to buy something nice for, but maybe she could chip in what she had and give them all homemade stuff too. They may all have nice new things for belongings, but they also seemed like they might appreciate something from the heart.

"Ron! Harry!" Hermione jumped up excitedly and went over to the portrait hole as they came in.

Hermione grabbed them each by their hands and pulled them over to the table. "Look." She pointed at the paper.

Ron was smiling brightly. "I know! Lupin's just told us." He picked her up around the middle and spun her around once before giving her a kiss. She let out an un-Hermione like giggle.

"Yeah. It's really great." Harry nodded with a small smile and looked over to his girlfriend. "Are you okay?" He knelt down beside her and took her hand.

"Oh." She'd remembered she was injured obviously, and it did smart a bit, but she'd disassociated him with it all together. There had just been so much else that happened after. "I'm fine. I can take the bandage off in the morning." She assured him.

"I'm so-"

She leaned forward and gave him a light kiss. "Shut up Harry." She smiled. He still looked upset about it. She rolled her eyes and stood up, pulling her up with him, only to shove him into her chair and sit on his lap. "Stop moping about it. We have other things to tell the two of you." Giving him a kiss on the nose of his surprised face. He let out a chuckle and wrapped his arms around her middle.

"Oh yes!" Hermione looked excited. "Ginny had a great idea for you Harry. And I think it'll be so interesting."

"Uh oh." Ron joked. "This is going to involve charts of something isn't it?" He smiled. While he wasn't the most studious person, behaving more braun than brain, Ron did passably well for himself in his classes and seemed to enjoy being lightly bossed around by his girlfriend about his schoolwork.

Hermione blushed. "Well...yes." She handed Harry her letter from the Daily Prophet.

He read it over and looked from Hermione to Neville, then up to Ginny. She was watching his reaction carefully, knowing it wouldn't upset him, but hoping that he would appreciate the gesture. "I just thought... Um, this was how we all found out." His gaze was intense and was taking her breath away. It was more than she'd hoped for. He hadn't said anything but she could swear she felt adoration radiating off of him.

And it was getting her all hot and bothered.

Ron reached across the table and snatched the letter out of Harry's hand while they stared at each other and read if for himself. "Merlin! Four years worth of Daily Prophets? And that'll be what? How many Galleons?"

Ginny blushed hearing that and lowered her eyes from Harry's, chewing her lip again.

He looked over to Hermione. "Take it from my vault. I. This is brilliant guys." He lifted Ginny's chin to speak to her directly. "Thank you." He whispered. "You've no idea."

She gave him a small bashful smile before he pulled her chin down to him. "Anything." She whispered back against his lips.


	8. I Want That

He would have liked to have a hooded cloak or something, but perhaps that would have drawn more attention to him in a place like this. Everyone was wearing normal everyday business robes, and some in Muggle suits and dresses. The regular business wear for the Ministry of Magic. He didn't want to stand out, and with how healthy he looked now as compared to what he'd looked like in the pictures distributed from how he was in Azkaban perhaps no one would recognize him anyway.

There was a small part of him that felt like it had all been a rouse. He was going to get thrown back into a cell by the end of the day.

The Daily Prophet had been wrong before, and Dumbledore had been wrong before. The Wizengamut had most certainly been wrong before too. That was why one of the first people he saw stepping out of the lift was Lucius Malfoy who'd been a full blown Death Eater, regardless of whatever lies he strung together to get out of any prison time. The Wizengamut had been bribed to deny the use of Veritaserum on those accused Death Eaters. There was no doubt in his mind.

That morning Sirius had visited Gringotts and been greeted by the Goblins as the Nobel Lord and Head of House Black. His first course of action was to empty and close out any of the imprisoned Black line still holding a vault under that name. Anything that had been left in Andromeda, Narcissa, Bellatrix or Rudolphus' vaults was transferred to the main Black Vault which only he had access to.

Andromeda was the only cousin he thought well of and was happy to learn that she had long ago removed anything that associated her with the Black name. Narcissa had kept a few items in her personal vault, but no gold. Bellatrix had married due to a betrothal contract only and thus had kept all of her inheritance and personal items of value in her Black name, that made Sirius spitefully giddy. His brother Regulus had disappeared long ago and had a small fortune in his vaults that had not been touched in over fourteen years.

The Goblins had been very accommodating, asking only a few hundred Galleons for 'processing fees'. It was a palfrey amount to him and he didn't hesitate to sign it over to them.

His last order of business had been to transfer a thousand Galleons to the Weasley family vault. Any more and he imagined Arthur would have been too offended to accept. That amount he could argue that the man take it by way of apology and gratitude.

It would be a discussion for a later day, if he were to be in the free world after this visit.

"All will be well." Dumbledore said beside him.

"Believe it when I see it." Sirius grumbled. The old man had met him at the muggle entrance and come through with him.

They checked in with the Security desk who did a double check and nearly wet himself when he saw Sirius, who did not yet have his wand back to check it in.

The sigh that Dumbledore gave when Sirius used his Azkaban wanted poster as a form of identification only reinforced in Sirius' mind that it had been the right move. What kind of Marauder would he be if he had done it any other way?

Gringotts was able to use his blood, the Ministry wasn't set up for that, and the ponce working the security desk wouldn't have been able to cast the necessary spells.

"What's this birds name?" Sirius asked once they stepped off the lift and headed for the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement's office.

"Amelia Bones." Dumbledore told him. "She is very sharp, and I trust her to keep her word."

"Albus." Called a woman from down the corridor. She was a brunette in her early thirties with a nice figure under her black pencil skirt and white blouse. He could tell she had a no nonsense attitude in the way she walked, briskly and purposeful in her kitten heels. She caught up to them and opened the door to the office they had been about to knock on. "Welcome." She let them in. "Can I get you two a tea or a coffee? I'm afraid we still have to wait for Mr. Crouch."

"Tea would be lovely. Thank you Amelia." Dumbledore told her.

"And you Mr. Black?" She turned to him.

"Nothing." He looked wearily at the carafe's at her side table.

She poured Dumbledore's tea and handed it to him, then poured herself a coffee and took a seat, surveying Sirius. "Sorry." She said simply.

"I don't mind waiting."

Her lip twitched. "I meant about your time in Azkaban. I'm sorry. On behalf of my department."

"You were hardly here at the time." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"No, I was finishing up at Hogwarts then, but I still feel the need to apologize to you for what happened to you, and rest assured that I will be taking steps to insure that it does not happen to someone else again."

She was direct. She was looking straight at him with no hint of nervousness or making any placating gestures. She wasn't attempting to put him at ease or using any political moves to sway his opinion of the Ministry. She was honestly just apologizing for what had happened to him. It wasn't what he'd been expecting.

"I will take that coffee." He told her.

She inclined her head and went back to her side bar as the door to the office burst open again. "How nice of you to knock. By all means, please come in." Amelia simpered sarcastically as Bartimaeus Crouch barged in.

"I was delayed." He dismissed her remark and levitated a chair over to sit beside Sirius. "How did you escape from Azkaban?" He looked back at the open door where his assistant was standing on the other side and waved his wand so it would shut then looked back towards Sirius. He had been the Head of the Department when Sirius was imprisoned, so he was invited to be there for this meeting.

"Crouch. How nice to see you. If you don't mind, I was just about to enjoy a nice sip of coffee." Sirius ignored the mans imploring look and accepted a cup from Amelia. He'd caught a glimpse of the Weasley red at the door and knew it was Percy standing on the other side of the door and wondered if he knew yet. "Mmm. Still tastes fresh, thank you." He gave a nod to Amelia.

"Mister Black." Crouch said sharply as a request for his question to be answered.

"I found the motivation and got out. Swam to shore." He told him evasively.

"How?!" Crouch demanded.

"Doggy paddled." Sirius smiled to himself at his joke and took another sip of the coffee. It really was a nice flavor and tasted recently brewed as well. He noticed Dumbledore pause his movements of drinking from his own cup then at his answer and gathered it was a sign that he saw the humor in it.

"Mister Black. If you could please elaborate." Amelia asked nicely.

Sirius caught her eye. She really was quite the looker. Bones, he was sure he'd gone to school with a Bones girl that was a year or two ahead of him, she must have been her younger sister. He noticed she wasn't wearing a ring on her finger.

He set down his cup on her desk and moved his chair back. She and Crouch stood, probably thinking he was about to walk out, but he stood where he was and transformed into his Animagus, Crouch made a strained noise but Amelia just looked surprised and thoughtful. Sirius winked at her in his Padfoot form and changed back. He pulled his chair back forward and picked up his coffee, once more taking his seat.

"You are an unregistered Animagus?" Crouch asked angrily. "That is against the law. How long have you been an Animagus? It must have been since before going into Azkaban." He turned to Amelia. "He could have used this form to carry out Death Eater tasks with no one seeing him."

Sirius pulled up his sleeves. "You see any tattoos on my arms?" He showed his forearms.

"He has been cleared of any charges in regards to being a Death Eater." Amelia told Crouch with warning. "If you try to accuse him again then we will need to make a point of trying EVERYONE that was cleared of being a Death Eater, and this time we'll use Veritaserum and see what happens."

Crouch took his seat again, he knew that trying him for being a Death Eater again would open up every other case. While he had been relentless about it the first time around, the world was at peace now, dragging that all up again would put a black spot on his name, and bring up his own family history. "Still." He calmed down. "Being an unregistered Animagus holds a penalty."

Sirius barked in laughter, startling Crouch. "That's what? Sixty days in Azkaban? How about this, you take 60 Galleons off of my reparations and consider it 'time spent'." He glared at the man.

"The Dementors could not effect you when you were in your Animagus form?" Amelia asked.

Sirius noted that her eyes were twinkling slightly. She'd liked that he'd taken her predecessor down a peg. He'd held the position she did two department heads before she'd come to it, but she'd always noticed he looked at her disdainfully, like he thought she couldn't possibly manage the position.

"They effected me still. They just couldn't find me when I was in that form, so they would not have been able to see me slip through my bars and make it out to the Apparation dock."

"That was three years ago. Where have you been hiding since?" Crouch asked impatiently.

"Disregard that question." Amelia cut in. "We have no business knowing, that was not the purpose of your visit here today." She turned to Crouch. "Thank you for joining us, you may leave." She waved her hand in dismissal.

Crouch looked like he wanted to tell her off, but she arched her eyebrow at him in challenge. He stood abruptly from his chair and left the office slamming the door on the way out.

"I think he'd be a frog if he were an Animagus." Sirius pondered. "Something about the eyes."

Amelia did her best to hide her smile. "I have something for you." She opened a drawer on her desk and retrieved his wand.

Sirius sucked in a breath. He hadn't used wand magic since the night of Halloween 1981. He reached out with a shaky hand as she handed it to him hilt first. A full body sigh took over him as warmth radiated from his hand all the way through his body. "So much better." He moaned.

"Thank you for coming in Mr. Black. I can only imagine how you must feel about the Ministry, and what if took to come in here today." Amelia stood to show them out. "Albus, thank you for agreeing to escort him. And for bringing this all to light."

Dumbledore put down his tea cup and stood. "We cannot be so arrogant as to be unable to admit our wrongs. I myself had believed he was guilty. How wrong we all were about so much then." He accepted her hand when she offered it, though not to shake it as she'd expected. He kissed the back of it and headed out.

Amelia stifled her surprised laughter at that and turned to bid adieu to Sirius. "You'll be hearing from me about your reparations. If you need anything from this department, please don't hesitate." She held out her had to him as well.

Sirius maintained eye contact with her as he slowly brought her hand to his lips as well. Her hand smelled faintly of vanilla and coffee and it was very soft under his lips. "I look forward to hearing from you." He told her in a low voice. Her face did not betray her then, the set of her lips, the color of her cheeks, even her pupils stayed exactly as they were, but the goosebumps on her arm told another story about his effect on her. He felt a slight victory at that. "Thank you, Miss Bones."

He let her hand go and left the office, catching up with Dumbledore on the way to the lift.

"What are your plans now you have your freedom and your wand back?" The man asked him.

Sirius groaned at the mental list in his head that was getting longer and longer. He'd need a House Elf. Not Kreachure, someone that would actually be loyal to him and not his mother.

He would face all that tomorrow. Tonight, he would go back to Hogwarts and to Remus and the kids. One more night to mentally prepare for returning to his childhood home.

()()()

She was running a finger absentmindedly up and down his thigh as she read. It was wildly distracting, and he was pretty sure she didn't have any clue exactly what kind of hormones she was calling up inside him while she did it.

They'd tried reading over these magazines and newspapers in the common room, but it was so uncomfortable. The library would have been equally so, and the couches around the common room were always occupied. They could have probably gone up to the sixth-year boys dorm, but at certain points there would be five of them looking over the articles at the same time and taking notes of worthy events.

Hermione had suggested using one of the unused classrooms and transfiguring some couches. They wouldn't have the comfort of a fireplace like they would have in the common room, but it was the best option.

Friday evening they'd all started looking over the publications that had come in. There were a lot of them. The Quibbler was a monthly magazine, and the Daily Prophet was, well, daily.

Harry had no problem pulling from his vault for the measly six Galleons the Daily Prophet had asked. The whole idea was genius. He'd been wanting to know what had happened with the last war and what happened after and hadn't even thought about getting the Prophet to find out.

If he'd voiced his wishes to Hermione or Neville maybe they would have come up with this idea sooner, but he hadn't.

It was such a simple solution too. Everyone else found out this information from reading about it. And he had spent a bit of time looking through the shelves at Florish and Blotts looking for something about the last war but hadn't found anything. Now he was kicking himself for not thinking of the Journalism angle.

Hermione had of course been completely gung-ho on this whole endeavor, and actually made up a list of details they could concentrate on and comparing and contrasting the publications and what was written before and after the war in regards to the people it referenced.

Harry was pretty sure she would be keen on being the person to put together a book about all of it.

Last night they'd all been there pouring over the material, with the exception of a visit with Sirius and Remus to confirm that he was in fact a free man. This morning after breakfast though Neville headed off to the Greenhouses. Ron and Hermione had started off reading a bit, but then went to the library to finish an assignment, or snog in a broom closet. One or the other.

Gryffindor Quidditch practice was after lunch as well, so Harry and Ginny only had two more hours that they could dedicate to this until possibly this evening as well. And he couldn't even manage to concentrate on what he was reading because Ginny's hand would not stop stirring up lustful memories of what they'd done in the Prefects bathroom a few days ago.

He swallowed deeply and blinked a few times, trying to clear his head enough to actually absorb at least a little bit of what he was reading.

Her little finger traces up and down changed in pattern, now she was swirling her fingers in figure eights and he couldn't help but wonder how it would feel if she did that on his bollocks.

The words on the paper were nothing more than ink splotches now and he was seeing a design forming from the spacing between the words. She was driving him mad with want. They hadn't had time for more than a few kisses since they'd been out by the lake on Tuesday. It was Saturday. That was basically a year in teenage hormone time. They'd cuddled together while with the others, and held hands and such, and that all felt great, but still.

"Ginny." He said with a strained voice. She looked up from her newspaper with her little smirk and that mischievous glint in her eyes that said she knew exactly what she'd been doing to him.

"Yes Harry?" She asked innocently. "Something catch your... interest?"

She was intentionally teasing him until he was at his breaking point! He didn't even respond verbally. He tossed his newspaper to the floor and ripped her magazine right out of her hands before pulling her lips towards his and devouring them. He felt her smile against their joined lips and nipped at her lip to get her gasping so he could set about exploring her mouth with his tongue.

She was responding with equal vigor and gave no sign of protest when he leaned her back on the couch, he wanted them pressed together as much as possible.

He trailed his hand up her side and under her shirt as his mouth moved down her neck. She arched her back as his lips met the dip in her collar bone and she let out a lovely little gasp when he slid his hand under her bra to her soft breast, letting out his own groan at how good it felt to palm her there.

She moaned and shifted underneath him, allowing him better access and spreading her legs so he could nestle in between them.

It had only been a week ago that she'd first touched him, and he'd spent weeks trying to hide his erections from her. Now he didn't know whether she wanted to feel them, or how to ask her to take care of him again. He didn't even know if he should be putting his weight on her _there_.

"Harry. Please." She panted and bucked her hips.

"Please what?" He said between the licks and kisses he was trailing back up her neck, while inhaling the intoxicating scent of her hair. "Tell me what you want." He groaned deeply. He couldn't tell what she would allow. How far was too far. He needed it spelled out explicitly, and hopefully before his hormone driven excitement made him embarrass himself, because her soft and perky breast was in his hand, she was writhing underneath him, and every time he sucked at a spot on her neck he couldn't help calling up the image of _her_ sucking on _him_ in a particular spot on his body.

She quickly raised her arms behind her head, pushing on the arm of the couch and shifting her body down so that their clothed privates met and they both hissed in pleasure. "This is what I want." She moaned wantonly and rocked against him.

"Fuck!" He cried in relief and ground into her. He pulled his hand out from under her shirt and gripped the underside of her thigh so she'd wrap her legs around him. "God, you made it so hard to concentrate on anything else." He couldn't help saying as he rubbed the underside of his shaft right up along where it most wanted to go and pulled the image to mind of his cock making a home inside of her.

"Yes." Ginny gripped the back of his trousers and egged him on matching his movements. "God, I've been so horny." That made him buck even harder against her. She'd wanted this just as much as he wanted to give it to her and that was so hot to hear.

If only they weren't wearing trousers! The zippers were not causing the same smooth feeling as he'd had when they were in the bathroom. It was too harsh an interruption and he was desperate for that same feeling. He let out a growl of frustration. She was wearing trousers today too.

It was one thing for him to push down his trousers so that he was only in his pants, but to ask her to do the same. He couldn't have at this point without it coming out like a desperate demand anyways.

She made the decision for him as her hand slid down to where they were joined, and she started at his top button. He pulled back quickly so he was on his knees and finished undoing the button and pulling down the zip, seeing she was doing the same with hers.

She lifted her hips and shimmied her trousers down and slipped them off one leg while he stared with dark eyes at her knickers, noticing a little pool of moisture that had leaked through at the center, unconsciously stroking himself once at the sight of it.

Ginny grabbed at the middle of his shirt and pulled him back down on top of her, curving her back so they met more completely. They both hissed in pleasure at that less obstructed contact. He could feel how hot she was there right radiating through to his dick. His eyes rolled back in his head, knowing just how hot the entirety of it would be were he to claim their virginities right then.

Their mouths met again and her hips were moving in this circular up and down motion and it was driving him nuts. He grabbed her hip to steady her while humped against that wet and warm spot over and over again.

He could still feel her desperately trying to continue her movements and that was pushing him over the edge. She let out a long groan and arrested her movements as he carried on desperate for his release.

Inadvertently he pulled back a little too far and when he was bucking forward again the tip of his erection hit that sweet spot at her core and delved inside about an inch, stopped from going any further inside her only by the scraps of fabric they still had on their lower parts.

"Fuck!" He shouted at the sensation of his head burying inside her and he came, unable to stop his hips from still bucking slightly as he shot his load.

The pleasure centers in his brain were firing off like rockets, but he had enough piece of mind to completely halt his movements anymore after he was truly spent. It took a moment for him to become aware enough to take stock of what had just happened.

He hadn't meant to do that. He'd just been so overcome with need that he couldn't stop himself from finishing right after it happened.

Ginny was completely still underneath him, and he was trying to calm his panic enough to open his eyes and see what her reaction would be. This panic in his brain didn't let it occur to him that maybe now would be a good time to remove his still erect head from where it had decided to go without permission.

When he finally opened his eyes and saw Ginny had her head tilted back and was biting her lip he didn't know what to do. "Ginny?" He worriedly whispered.

"Mmm." She moaned. Then did something that caused his eyes to roll back in his head again.

She started circling her hips again.

Her tight wet heat was only closed over about that inch of his still fully hard erection and while it wasn't moving any further inside her with her movements, the sensitive head was sending jolts of pleasure through him with every roll of her hips.

He was transfixed on her face while she did this. Her mouth was slightly open, her pink tongue touching her front teeth. The flush on her cheeks and spreading down what he could see of her chest to under her shirt.

She liked it.

She might actually cum again.

He moved his hand to touch her in that spot that had helped set her off the other day, and she cried out when he found it. Putting pressure there with his thumb he traced circles there in time with her movements and soon enough there was an unbelievable tightening around his head as she whimpered and cried out.

He buried his face back in the crook of her neck, losing the ability to hold it up any longer at this new sensation.

Her body relaxed slowly and that movement caused him to slip out of her. They both lay there breathing heavily.

Ginny tangled her hand into his hair and started massaging his scalp lazily. It felt wonderful on top of what had just happened. "You're going to make me fall asleep." He smiled and shifted down so he could use her chest as a pillow. He smiled wider when she let out an audible response that sounded something like 'ngaaw' and decided she might need a little more recovery time before she would be able to carry on proper speech patterns.

He had just made her cum twice after all, he thought proudly.

It would have been wonderful to just close his eyes and have a nap right there on top of her, but they were actually in a rather public place and could be walked in on at any moment. That wasn't something his horny brain saw as a problem before they did that, but now that he was spent and realized his trousers were hanging off of one ankle logical thinking was returning.

Resentfully he pulled back from her and managed to get to his feet, letting out a snicker at how his balance was a little off, then pulling up his trousers. He knew there was a silly grin on his face as he looked down at his beautiful girlfriend, but he didn't care.

Her face was flush with pleasure, a very content smile on her lips and her once tidy hair was all over the place. Her bare legs were on display for him and the center of her knickers were now thoroughly soaked.

Kneeling down beside the couch he couldn't stop himself from kissing the inside of her knee on her left leg, then placing another one slightly higher, then higher still up her warm thigh. It was calling to him.

He felt her shift on the couch and looked up to see her on her elbows looking down at him with her warm brown eyes, her chest rising and falling heavily.

Harry knew that if she kept looking at him like that, and if he kept kissing his way slowly up her leg then they would be on the road to doing something that had occupied his dreams since the first time he saw her. But that annoying little voice inside his head was telling him not to.

They would be expected at lunch, then they had Quidditch practice, then she and Ron were supposed to go into Hogsmeade for their family meeting.

He didn't want to have sex with her for the first time, properly, only to have all these obligations right after. Reluctantly, he reached down and pulled her trousers up her leg and moved out of the way so she could pull them on properly.

She sat up after doing up the button and he sat down beside her. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked.

She snuggled up beside him and nuzzled into his neck, sending delighted shivers down his spine. "Not right now." She whispered. "But it was amazing."

He rested back into the corner of the couch and she nestled comfortably beside him and they both drifted off.

()()()

The door creaked open into number 12 Grimmauld Place, clearing a few cobwebs in the process. Sirius cringed at the noise, and even more so at the dark and depressing entryway.

It was disgusting.

If he could bring to mind the image of his soul just before he'd escaped from Azkaban, this is what it would look like. Peeling wall treatments, dusty frames of hated family member portraits. The horrible red runner down the stairs with multiple unknown stains marking it. And there were bound to be many thousands of spiders and doxy's just waiting to drop on him when he least suspected them.

The kids had come to visit him at Remus' suite once more after dinner yesterday and Ron told him about how they were getting all the Daily Prophets and Quibblers from back around the end of the war. Ron's girlfriend had gone on about the lack of information readily available from around that time. No books about it, not being taught in History of Magic and such. But he caught an exchange between Ginny and Harry then about her exuberance.

Remus was all for them learning about that time but warned them that it wouldn't be a pleasant trip down memory lane, and that most of what was reported should not be taken at face value. It was a big undertaking that they were talking about.

The rest of the night was just he and Remus. They'd discussed what he should do with his family home now that it was in his possession properly again. The Fire Whiskey involved in that discussion led to several silly ideas. One of them was to get ostentatiously flowery and bright wall paper to do up his parents old bedroom in. There was a kind of paint you could get too that would make it shimmer and constantly give off a small amount of light.

If he'd come straight here after escaping, or even a year or two after, particularly if he hadn't managed to heal some old wounds by living with the Weasley's and receiving such loving care, then this task he'd set out for himself would have been far too much.

As it was, he now had an extra House Elf that he'd hired to help him. There was no doubt in his mind that Kreachure would have been next to useless, and bigoted against him.

That elf had loved his mistress and she hated Sirius, so the elf hated Sirius.

This new elf was timid, but there was something endearing about that. He'd been completely filthy and was given clothes by his previous owner which made him a huge bargain. The goblins had done the bonding ceremony then and the elf was instructed to wait until he was called before heading to the Black house.

Sirius walked through the entryway to the lounge on the right. The double doors sounded awful as they opened inward. There was a musty smell to the room that made his nose crinkle. It was like the elf had been using this room as his toilet for the past ten years.

With a scoff he closed the doors and went across the hall and to the kitchen.

It was also in a dismal state. The sink had a constant drip and there were splatters all over the work area with 'things' growing from them. Dishes were piled up all over the place, and there were various containers knocked over in the open cupboards.

The elf had lived in a closet off the kitchen before he'd left. He opened the door to the closet and saw the elf sitting there, cross legged.

"Did you not even care that someone had entered the house?" Sirius asked him harshly.

"I knew it was the mistresses disappointment. I feel your magic." Kreachure said slowly rocking back and forth.

"I see you've been keeping up your mistresses house." Sirius scowled. "Do you want clothes? Or a beheading?" He asked honestly. There may not have been anyone to serve in this big empty house, but that wouldn't stop House Elves. It was their whole mission in life to keep house for their masters. All the previous House Elves had their heads hanging on the walls upstairs and growing up with this one he knew that the elf saw it as something to aspire to.

"Not my mistresses house anymore." He kept rocking and shaking his head back and forth.

Sirius rolled his eyes and shut the door to the closet and went back to the entryway. "Dobby." He called.

CRACK

"Dobby is here Master." The eager and timid elf exclaimed.

"Good. Look. This place is absolutely disgusting. The old House Elf has not kept it up, in fact he's let it fall into an abysmal state." He gestured around. "I haven't even been upstairs yet but clearly we need to start work right away."

The elf's eyes went so wide Sirius was concerned they might pop right out of his head.

"I think we need to do this floor by floor. This spot right here I am thinking is the cleanest on in the whole place." He pinched the bridge of his nose trying to think of where to even start.

"Dobby will get right to work Master" Dobby looked around. "Does master know where the broom closet is?"

"You can try asking Kreachure. He's in the closet beside the oven. Through there." He pointed to the kitchen and Dobby hurried off.

He pulled out his old wand with a sigh. He was still adjusting to the feeling of having it back in his hand. After all this time he was going to have to get used to using it again. The only magic he'd used over the past decade was to become his Animagus self, and it was true with magic; if you don't use it, you lose it.

Getting this place in habitable shape was going to take a lot of magic.

And possibly a Weasley touch, he thought as an image of his home for the last three years came to mind.

()()()

"Urgh. My legs are killing me." Ron moaned as he and Ginny headed from the Quidditch Pitch down the path towards Hogsmeade.

Ginny agreed with him. Practice had been pretty brutal today. Her shoulders were certainly feeling it, but she was still riding quite a high from earlier. She'd hinted to Hermione over breakfast that she and Harry hadn't found much time for just the two of them that week, what with everything that had happened and all. Hermione of course cottoned on and had pulled Ron away from the little study group that morning.

Ginny'd been pretty antsy and hormone fueled these past few days and got the impression that Harry was feeling along the same lines. She had not expected what had happened on the couch that morning though.

But she'd been prepared for it.

Part of the girls night on Monday had been brewing a contraceptive potion.

She and Harry had just taken their relationship to a new level and if her hormones were starting to take the drivers seat like that, then she wasn't going to chance it. Her mum had drilled that into her head. The Contraceptive Charm was very effective, but only if you remembered to use it. The potion on the other hand was only needed once every four weeks.

Their nap had rolled right into lunch time and they hadn't actually talked about what had happened and how far they'd gone before rushing to grab a bite so they wouldn't collapse during practice. She'd kept trying to fight the blush that came to her face when she thought about it, but they'd very nearly had sex.

And thank Merlin she had taken that potion this week because even with two scraps of cotton between them, where he'd been when he finished was... well, inside her, and it had stayed there. Thinking about it now she was happy she could blame the cold wind on her cheeks as she hurried along beside her brother, because the way she'd carried on for another round, just remembering it had just gotten her so hot.

They made it to the twins flat and let themselves into the warm sitting area with greetings to all.

Every Weasley was there, even Kenneth who ran up and attached himself to his aunt's leg. She beamed brightly and picked up her little mister, giving a big kiss to his squishy and warm cheek while he giggled loudly at her tickling his side. "AGONY!" He squealed in his always yelling voice. He wasn't quite able to enunciate 'Aunt Ginny' yet, so it came out 'Agony', which everyone got a kick out of.

Ron swiftly took him from her arms to give him some hugs and tickles himself while she went around the room giving hugs to the rest of the family.

Bill and her dad were sitting at the far end of the room nursing a glass of scotch each while Percy and Charlie looked to be talking about Ministry business, and the twins were with mum in the kitchen area while she gave them instructions on some dishes she'd brought over to stock their fridge.

The twin's flat was tiny with all the redheads piled in here at the moment but would have had abundant space for its regular use of just the two of them while possibly entertaining a lady friend or two.

"Gin-Gin!" Charlie called her over to he and Percy. "What's this I hear about you and a boyfriend?" He teased.

"You have a boyfriend already?" Percy asked. "Isn't it quite soon for you to be seeing someone seriously?"

Ginny felt her hawk go up at that. Pompous Percy and his opinions. "No. It is not 'quite soon'. I've known him since before the train ride to Hogwarts, and we were just friends for a month before we finally admitted we both wanted more." She argued. "And, Ron has a girlfriend." She pointed out.

"Yes. Well-" Percy started, but Charlie put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a look that made Percy re-consider whatever he might have been about to say.

"Your father and I have met them both." Their mum came over and assured Percy. "Harry was quite the nice young man. I did like how his first concern was you dear." She kissed her daughter's forehead.

Ginny smiled at the gesture. "Thanks mum. He said he was worried how he'd come off. Said he wanted a second chance to make a first impression."

"Oh posh. He has no need to be worried." Her mum waved off the idea that they could have possibly not liked him, or Hermione.

"Did you say Harry?" Percy asked. "As in Harry Potter?"

Ginny just took a deep breath and stared him down, daring him to say anything more on the subject.

"We met ickle Ginny's boyfriend. Seemed someone might have warned him off us." Fred pouted.

George put an arm around her shoulders. "Now why would you want to deprive us of our fun? Your first boyfriend and we can't even turn him into a Canary." He shook his head.

Kenneth pushed some legs aside so he could stand in the middle of them. "LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!" He spun around on one foot and stared up at Ginny expectantly waiting for his praise at his new trick.

"That was amazing!" She gushed. "Can you show me again?" And he spun around again while his uncles and his dad chuckled and applauded.

"Alright!" Their dad stood up. "Thanks for coming Weasley's. Now, we have a bit of news to share with you and if you could all find a seat."

They pulled over the dining table chairs behind the sofa and Ginny led Kenneth around to sit with her on the floor in between where her mum and Bill were sitting.

"Now then." He started. "You have all heard about how Sirius Black was found innocent this week?" They nodded. "Well I don't know if you boys caught it." He looked at his five eldest. "But I was actually at the first Wizengamut meeting about it because the key piece of evidence was found at the Burrow."

"The key piece of evidence was Peter Pettigrew." Percy pointed out. "That was what had brought them to get his wand."

"Yes." he said with a slight nod. "It turns out that Peter Pettigrew was an Animagus. And he had been hiding with us in plain sight. A rat."

"Scabbers?" Bill exclaimed.

"Scabbers was Peter Pettigrew?" Charlie made a pained face.

"WHAT YOU TALKIN BOUT?" Kenneth asked loudly.

Ginny stroked his hair and gave a kiss to his nose to quiet him down. She concentrated and summoned a toy car that had rolled over by the fireplace to occupy him. He promptly climbed off her lap and rolled it all over the floor.

"He was dug up by Albus Dumbledore and he countered the Animagus spell." Their dad went on.

"My. Rat." Percy sounded like he might vomit, or possibly pass out.

"Whoa! Hope you never wanked in front of him." Fred said, earning a smack upside the head from his mum.

"Yeah. Same to Ron." George chuckled, earning himself a smack from Charlie, who was closer that mum was.

"Urgh. I'm trying not to think about it." Ron shuddered.

"Why are you acting like this isn't news?" George asked him.

"We found out on Tuesday." Ginny told them. "I assume you lot are being told now because Sirius Black doesn't have to be in hiding anymore. He's innocent."

"You know where he is?" Bill asked her inferring as much from her tone.

She nodded. "He went to his family home on today and went to speak to that Amelia Bones woman yesterday."

"Oh good." Mum sounded relieved, like she had worried that what the papers had reported might have been a rouse. Ginny had had the same concerns until Harry had received an owl before they'd seen him last night stating all was well and he'd still be in Professor Lupin's suite.

"And how do you know this when they don't?" Bill pointed to his parents.

"Well, he was her dog." Ron offered. "Sirius Black was Sirius Black."

The five eldest boys were silent at that revelation while Kenneth started calling for the dog and looking around the flat to see if he could find him.

()()()

It was dark when Ron and Ginny made their way back to Hogwarts. Hagrid had met them at the entrance gate at 7 to let them in and they headed straight for the classroom they'd converted to find their friends and partners reading quietly.

"Hey!" They greeted and dragged over some chairs. "What did we miss?" Ron asked.

"There are so many Death Eaters children that go here!" Neville exclaimed. "I mean. I knew some of them, but there are some not in Slytherin that I had no idea about."

"We've been adding pretty steadily to the list." Hermione gestured to the parchment on the table.

"How was your family dinner?" Harry asked them.

"Mum makes the best food." Ron smiled lazily and patted his stomach.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "They took the news pretty well." She explained how it took only a few moments for her brothers to pull themselves together and ask tons of questions that they didn't have all the answers to. Mum had started piling food onto the counter for them to gorge themselves with while the chatter about it went on endlessly. "But all in all, I think they weren't quite as affected as I was." She finished.

"Well, all of us refused to clip his nails." Ron pointed out.

Ginny shuddered and repressed the urge to vomit. The other three just made a face.

"What date are you at?" She pointed to the newspapers.

"September 1982." Hermione picked up her parchment full of notes. "There's been a lot of articles about how the world was getting back to where it was before the war and international cooperation picking up and such." They'd been receiving the papers in reverse chronological order and started with December 1982.

"Not much about the trials and all that yet." Neville flipped the page of his paper. "Here's another piece about the possible whereabouts of Wonder Boy over there." He teased showing a baby picture of Harry to the room.

Harry let out a groan but was smiling and shaking his head.

"Did you lot eat?" Ron asked.

"Yeah." Harry dropped a newspaper to the floor and grabbed a new one.

"Well. Are any of you a bit peaky?" He asked hopefully.

"If you're going to the kitchens then I'll come with you." Neville stood up and gave a stretch.

Ron gave Hermione a quick kiss to the cheek and walked out with Neville. Ginny picked up a copy of the Quibbler and got comfortable in her chair.

She was half way through the paper when she sat up a little straighter. "Any notes on Bartimaeus Crouch?" She asked Hermione.

"Oh, yes. The poor man. Finding out that your only child is a Death Eater and having to be the one to put him away there was a short mention of it in November 82." She grabbed her parchment. "They have an article about that in there?"

"Partly. This one is more about how both his wife and child died at the same time right after they'd gone to visit Junior in Azkaban and how suspicious that is." She read a little bit more and rolled her eyes. "Blaming some non-existent beetle for infecting the two of them when they shared their last visit."

"What, they both died at the same time?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. Says that the son was found dead by guards less than a week later, and the wife had stopped making public appearances immediately after their visit she'd passed away and had a closed funeral. Apparently she'd been suffering from something for a while and it had gotten way worse after her son was accused and committed."

"You think they somehow swapped bodies and the mother died in his place and Junior is just... around somewhere?" Harry asked.

"They could have used Polyjuice potion." Hermione said thoughtfully. "It makes you take on the appearance of someone else for an hour. If she managed to hide a flask or something she could have lasted looking like him for a while."

The three of them sat thinking about it for a moment. It was a wild theory, but if she was imprisoned and her mum was close to death, she'd do the same thing for her.

"We shouldn't tell Neville this possibility." Hermione whispered.

"Why not?" Ginny asked. Neville was as much a part of this little project as the rest of them.

"The reason that Barty Crouch Junior went to Azkaban, besides for being a death eater, was because of the part he'd played in... with Neville's parents." She explained.

"Oh." She leaned back in her chair to comprehend that. Neville hadn't said anything to her about his parents. She knew he lived with his Grandmother and assumed they had passed away when he was a child. The Quibbler just mentioned about Junior's indecencies on the day that Voldemort fell.

"I'm not going to write that one down." Hermione sniffed sadly. "It's just an assumption. And from the Quibbler."

"I know the Quibbler is a lot of bollocks." Ginny defended. "But it has some facts that the Prophet is too chicken shit to print."

"Language." Hermione admonished immediately.

"Sorry mum." Ginny teased.

"We got some little cakes." Ron announced coming into the room holding an armful of treats with Neville smiling behind him.

()()()

Harry pulled her into a little alcove on the way back to the common room before curfew. "Hey." He whispered and gave her a soft kiss.

"Hey." She wrapped her arms around his neck and stepped closer to him, giving him another longer and deeper kiss.

"About earlier." He started.

She nuzzled the side of his neck and gave him kisses there, pressing into him even more and humming. "Mmm. Yeah. Earlier."

"You were okay with that?" He asked huskily. She was doing her best to get him worked up again.

Ginny pulled back and met his eye. "I was okay with that twice Harry." She cocked an eyebrow at him suggestively.

He grinned. She had cum twice. He thought so, but getting the confirmation was exciting him. He'd been thinking about it all afternoon, and he'd realized that he might have pushed a boundary and she might have been upset about that after thinking it over or something.

Harry also realized that cotton wasn't the most leakproof material and remembered stories of sperm managing to get places.

He swallowed hard. "Um, but. About that. When I. When you." He fumbled for his wording. "It's just that I was, well he. Uh. It was right, um. There. When I. And."

Ginny blushed and lowered her gaze, playing with a button on his shirt. "I'm on the potion." She whispered.

"The potion." He stated, confused. What potion?

"The contraceptive potion." She bit her lip.

He was surprised by that. Did that mean that she wanted to? How long had she wanted more? Was it just a precaution? Because that had actually been needed today. "How long have you been on it?" He asked quietly, but in a rather high voice.

"Well. After waking up in your bed on Sunday I had a bit of a panic before you told me we hadn't. Then I figured it was probably a good idea to take it. Just in case."

"Does that mean that." His speaking abilities were completely lost when she looked back up at him. Her warm brown eyes were full of desire and conflict.

She licked her lips. "We've been getting pretty carried away. And I've loved every minute of it." She blushed. But there was that word again. "And I want to keep. Um, loving every minute of it?"

"Ginny. I don't quite know what that means." He managed to clear his head enough to find his voice. "I need you to tell me when I'm pushing you too far, because I don't want to get carried away and have you be upset at me." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "That's why I needed you to tell me what you wanted earlier."

Ginny bit her lip and giggled a bit. "That was really hot."

"It was?" He asked. He hadn't meant for it to be.

"Yeah." She nodded enthusiastically with wide eyes. "And I really appreciate you not wanting to push me. But Harry." She cupped the side of his face. "I don't think there's anything you could do with me that I don't already want."

His jaw dropped. Nothing? He'd pictured doing all kinds of things to her and with her while he'd been wanking ever since he'd met her. "In that case." He said boldly and leaned down to right beside her ear, trailing a hand over her hip and to her sex. "I want to kiss you here."

She gyrated against his finger and whimpered slightly. "I want that." Her hand went behind his head and she pulled at his hair so she could capture his lips and devour them hungrily.

He pushed her back against the wall and lifted her up by her thighs so she could wrap her legs around him. It gave him a thrill to know that he was the only thing holding her up. Made him feel more manly in a pound-your-chest kind of way. His one hand moved up to cup her bum, tracing his pinky up to run along her slit over and over again.

"It's curfew in a minute." A voice called out into the corridor that sounded like Dean Thomas.

Harry rested his forehead against hers and tried to calm himself down. He wanted to find a secluded spot and go down on her immediately, even if he completely bollocksed it up, he knew he could still get her to finish. He'd done it three times this week.

Remembering that was not helping calm him down.

He rested her feet back down and hugged her close. "I love you." She sighed with her head rested against his chest.

He tensed up. "Err. Ginny?"

She pulled back and looked up at him again. "Yeah?" She smiled.

"You. You've said that twice now. And I'm just kind of, uh, wondering if." He hesitated.

"Said what?" She asked and scrunched up her nose a little in thought, then she blushed. "Oh! I've told you that twice?" She asked, her eyes clearing up of their dazed expression. "When did I say it before?"

"Tuesday. After we'd talked to Sirius. In the corridor." He told her nervously. "I've heard you say it to Ron, and Hermione, and even to Neville once as like, a tease or something. But only the two times to me and I was just wondering. Is it like, something you just say? Or."

"Or do I actually love you?" She finished warmly. "You're asking if I'm in love with you?"

He blew some of his fringe away from his eyes. "Yeah."

She reached up and removed the fringe out of his eyes herself. "Yes."

"You are?" He smiled slowly.

"Yes." She pulled his face down closer to hers.

"Really?" He hugged her tighter feeling a shivering excitement. He'd hoped so. There were other couples he'd seen over the years that would actually shout it to each other in the corridors and it had sounded rather fake. Sometimes he'd overhear people sharing a semi-private moment and telling each other that in the common room and he'd wondered if those couples were just being sappy, or actually were in love. And he had heard stories about how much his mum and dad had been in love. He had just never been told it properly so far as he could remember, and his hands were shaking at her admission.

"Harry?" She asked softly and cupped his cheek and maintaining purposeful eye contact. "I love you."

"I love you too." He breathed out before kissing those deliciously soft lips again. His heart felt like it had inflated with helium, like it was light and full and might carry him up to the ceiling.

"Now it is curfew!" Dean came out of the portrait hole a few yards away from, his voice breaking them apart.

They detangled themselves and walked hand in hand back to the Tower. "Sorry Dean." Ginny told him as they passed. Once he was out of earshot, right before they gave the Fat Lady the password she went up onto her toes and whispered right into Harry's ear. "I want to kiss you there too."


	9. Relationships

**This one's for Peeveskicksass, for being so patient :)**

It had been getting ridiculously difficult to try and find time alone with Harry lately.

They'd been ready to take their relationship to the next level for a few weeks now and just could not find the time or place to be with each other for more than twenty minutes. Whether it be Quidditch, homework, friends, or mother nature herself.

Explaining that one to Harry had been embarrassing, for both of them. It would have just been embarrassment on her part if he knew anything whatsoever about what she was talking about. The number of euphemisms she'd had to use before he caught on to her reason why she hadn't been feeling well, and likely wouldn't for a week. It's a wonder he'd made it this far in life. He did get adorably flustered once he finally realized she'd been telling him she had her period.

The stolen moments of heated snogs hadn't been taking the edge off of her raging hormones at all, it only fueled them more.

Yesterday she'd pulled him into a broom closet and demanded, non-verbally, that he take care of her needs. He'd been all too happy to give in, and very grateful that she'd been wearing her skirt at the time. She'd been grateful he'd cum so quickly from their grinding and resorted to using his fingers on her.  
Finally she could concentrate. Harry seemed much more relaxed as well.

"Do you have your Ancient Runes textbook?" Hermione asked grabbing her attention.

Without looking up from her parchment she fished a hand into her book bag and pulled it out, handing it over to her.

"You seem very focused today." She sounded amused.

"Shh. We're in the library." Ginny teasingly mocked. Hermione didn't miss much, so she was sure she knew exactly why Ginny was better able to focus.

Once her assignment was finished, she raised her hands over her head, fingers locked, in a stretch and turned her head side to side to work out the kinks. It was nice to have been done with reading through all of the articles of the Prophet and the Quibbler finally and get back to just having her class assignments.

It had been very enlightening, and Hermione had pages and pages of notes on who had been thought to do what and for which side in the last war.

There was no doubt that the girl had already started a rough draft of a book on the last war from the information they'd found. Next she'd probably start interviewing people herself who'd been through it.

"You about ready to head back?" Ginny asked her. They'd been holed up in the library for two hours while the boys did whatever they were doing. Somehow the three of them; Harry, Ron and Neville, never seemed to put in as much effort as she and Hermione in their essays and assignments, granted the girls had one more class than them, but they still managed to get decent marks.

Hermione gave a non-committal answer and Ginny started packing up her things and returning books to their shelves. Her mind wandered to this coming weekend. It was a Hogsmeade weekend and no doubt everyone would be doing their Christmas shopping.

She still had her money she'd been setting aside for buying gifts thanks to Harry putting up the Galleons for the archives, she'd decided that baking up a bunch of Christmas cookies and wrapping them in a goodie bag with a knit scarf would be nice for all of her friends. But she wanted to do something more for Harry.

He could easily buy anything he wanted for himself, but from the state of his belongings, he just didn't. It probably had to do with so many years of conditioning from those awful relatives of his.

Sirius had written him and asked him to join him for the holidays at his house in London, and the two of them had been invited to the Burrow for Christmas day. She was happy he finally had someone who would care about him in a parental manner, and very happy she'd at least get to see him over the holidays. She'd written her parents to see if they'd be okay with him joining them for the holidays so he wasn't stuck by himself in the castle just before Sirius' owl had arrived.

Harry was quite keen on the idea too. He'd been over the journal that Sirius had given him and read all the stories about his parents. Professor Lupin had laughed when Harry mentioned some of the stories and told his own version of the events.

Bill had gotten back to Harry about Gringotts and sent him some pamphlets on how the Goblins handled investments and the basics on how the bank ran. He also recommended a bit of reading material on how to deal with the Goblins as well.

All in all, Harry was doing much better now that he had more information, and everyone was glad they could help him with that.

"Ready." Hermione caught up with her in the stacks.

Walking back to the common room Hermione was talking about how excited she was about the holiday and organizing all her notes on the last war.

"Do you ever wonder who he was?' Ginny asked.

"Who who was?"

"Voldemort." She said simply. "We've read all about the Death Eaters and their back stories and excuses, but there was nothing on who Voldemort really was. He was just some all-powerful demon man that came out of nowhere in the sixties-seventies. But nothing about who he was before that."

Hermione slowed her walk to a stop and Ginny turned back to raise her eyebrows in question at her. She'd just been musing aloud.

"I hadn't even thought of that angle."

"Angle? It was just a question." She paused. "Though, now that you mention it. There should be a section dedicated to where he came from and how he came to power."

"There absolutely should be! And those papers never mentioned anything about it! I know there are some different names in this world, but I highly doubt there was anyone that went to this school actually named Voldemort."

Ginny snickered. "Could you imagine what eleven-year-olds would do making fun of that name?"

Hermione giggled a bit too. "Oh yes. They'd make fun of it for sure. Voldemort. Moldy-wart."

"Think they'd call him Morty for short? Or Voldy-shorts!"

They passed teasing nickname ideas back and forth as they continued back to the tower.

()()()

"And his Eventuality Nibblers!" Ginny's voice came through the portrait hole as she and Hermione came back from the library. She was smiling brightly and wiping a tear of mirth from her eyes. Hermione was in much the same state.

Ron and Harry exchanged a humorous glance over their game of chess as their girlfriends made their way to them. "Hey." Harry pulled Ginny into his lap after she dropped her bag beside his chair. "What's got you two like this?"

"We." Laugh. "She." Hermione pointed to Ginny. "Ha. We were talking about Voldemort." She said loudly and a few heads snapped over in their direction. "And his. His." She started laughing again and took up in the chair by Ron.

"You mean Moldy-wart and his Eventual Nibblers." Ginny was shaking with laughter.

"I think we're missing some context here." Ron said confused.

The two girls just shook their heads, still struggling to breath through their giggles. "You know." Breath. "How children tease?" Ginny managed. "And how stupid the name Voldemort is?"

"So, you guys were just taking the piss out of his name?" Ron asked them.

Ginny buried her head in Harry's neck to try and calm down. He chuckled at their antics and wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the feel of her hot breath on his neck.

The two women calmed down and Hermione took his place to play Ron after Harry had lost miserably. He and Ginny had moved over to the couch and were cuddled up nicely in front of the fire when Neville came in just before curfew looking slightly disheveled and flush.

"Hey." He squeaked and went straight up to the dorms.

The four of them exchanged glances. "Is Neville seeing someone?" Hermione asked.

"He hasn't told us anything." Ron said.

"He mentioned something about tutoring someone in Herbology earlier." Ginny mused. "Did he tell any of you who that someone was?" They all shook their heads 'no'.

"And that was definitely a happy glow, right?" Harry said quietly to Ginny. He wanted assurance that Neville hadn't just had a bad encounter on the way back to Gryffindor and been too embarrassed to tell them he'd been bullied or something.

"Oh no." Ginny smiled. "His hair was nearly as messy as yours. And his lips were a little fuller than usually. He was definitely snogging someone."

"His lips were fuller?" Harry asked incredulously. "You noticed that?"

Ginny shrugged.

"Who do you reckon?" Harry asked her, he didn't want to draw everyone else in the common room into this discussion. Ron and Hermione were too far away to ask for their input without everyone eavesdropping. "Susan Bones might be sweet on him."

"I think I saw Terry Boot giving him a look over the other day."

Harry was taken aback. "But they're both guys." Ginny turned in his arms so she could look at him directly. Her warm brown eyes bore imploringly into his own as the understanding dawned. "You think..."

"I honestly have no idea who Neville likes. But if it is a guy rather than a girl, is that a problem for you?"

He'd never thought about it before. He understood what gay was, he'd just never been around anyone that was. At least so far as he knew. It just wasn't his train of thought when it came to relationships. Harry looked back up towards the stairs Neville had rushed up. "He looked pretty happy about it." Harry smiled recalling his flustered friends face. Turning back to Ginny he saw she was satisfied with that answer.

"As I understand it, that is much more accepted in our world than in the Muggle one."

"What is?"

"Homosexuality."

Harry's brow furrowed. "Is this another one of those things that you just grew up knowing?" He asked in a resigned voice.

She shook slightly and he knew she was laughing under her breath. "Probably." She rubbed his thigh. "It was always man and woman that married in our world, mostly for the purpose of creating heirs, but any same sex partnerships after the children were created was their own business." Ginny told him.

"I couldn't imagine that." Harry nodded his head. "Being forced into a marriage where I had to sleep with my wife, but actually being in love with someone else."

"Yet another reason I love you." She tilted her head up to kiss him under his chin.

()()()

"Sirius?" Remus called out from the sitting room of Grimmauld Place.

CRACK

"Hello. I am Dobby. Can I be of helps to you?" The House Elf greeted him.

"Err. Hello Dobby." He looked around the sitting room. He had only been there once before, a few days after Sirius had taken possession of it again, but Dobby had been out getting supplies. "You have done a fantastic job here!" The room was clean and freshly painted. He couldn't smell anything but the faint scent of cinnamon.

"Thank you sirs." The green of the elf's cheeks turned slightly darker. "How can I help you?"

"My name is Remus Lupin. I am looking for your master." He asked him kindly.

The sound of a door closing a few levels up alerted them to the location of Sirius, his hurried steps sounding closer and closer. "Remus!" Sirius grinned coming into the room. He was only wearing a bathrobe and sleeping trousers. "Did I know you were coming?"

"Ah. No." Remus told him, amused by how he was dressed mid-morning on a Saturday. "I wanted to talk to you about the holidays."

"Okay." Sirius turned to Dobby. "Would you mind sending some breakfast up to my room please."

Dobby bristled with pride. "Of course, master! You're miss must be hungry." CRACK.

"You're miss?" Remus raised an eyebrow. "You have a miss now?"

Sirius merely grinned at him. "So, what about the holidays? Did you hear that Harry is coming here? You'll join us too, right? Even if it's just for a bit?" He sat back on the couch and gestured for Remus to do the same.

"I was hoping." He told him awkwardly.

Sirius studied his friends demeanor. Remus had skirted certain issues he was having at school. It had always been like he thought himself unworthy of his and James' friendship. Never realizing just how much he and James had come to think of him as a brother.

Something the friendship with Peter had never quite been. Remus would have been a much better choice as Secret Keeper for them. Unfortunately Remus had been vehemently against it due to his condition.

"Where do you usually go for your holidays? Is your dad still around?"

Remus' lips thinned slightly and he shook his head. "He passed on about ten years ago. Left me his house. I usually go there, but there's-" He swallowed. There was no one there, and it was lonely, that's what he didn't want to say.

"Well, you can't do that then. Stay here with Harry and I! He only has a year and a half left at Hogwarts, and I want to make sure he leaves the Marauder impression. I don't even know if he's flirted with Minerva yet." He got a look on his face. "Remember when I made her blush? Good times."

Remus knew he would do that. Try and make it less awkward for him. He was so grateful to have him back in his life. And he was right. Harry should have been getting up to mischief during his Hogwarts career, but thus far he'd been very well behaved. James would be disappointed if they didn't do something about that.

"That sounds great." Remus relaxed. "Now then. Who's the miss?"

Sirius waggled his eyebrows at him. "Keeping that a little hush hush right now. Lets just say that the old charm still hasn't gone. It was a little rusty though." He admitted.

Remus barked a laugh.

Sirius face turned a little concerned. "Say. Does Harry know?" He inclined his head at him. "About you?"

Remus sadly shook his head. "The Pepper-up potion, Glamours and the Wolfsbane potion have been working wonders. I've really only had a few 'sick days' in my four years. But I've been maintaining a professional distance from Harry."

"Anyone else know?"

"Just a few of the staff." He shifted uncomfortably.

"And no miss of your own has ever found out?"

Remus felt his mood drop again. "No." Because there hadn't been a long term 'miss' for him for a very long time. It was just something he had lived with. He didn't want to chance hurting someone, and he didn't want to chance getting hurt.

He had watched his best friend fall in love and get married to the girl of his dreams with a longing that something like that would happen for him one day. But he was a werewolf, that just wouldn't be in the cards for him. His last dalliance had involved seeing the same woman four times over the span of three weeks and then breaking things off with her.

"Not everyone holds a prejudice you know." Sirius pointed out.

"Thanks." Remus deadpanned.

"No other werewolf chicks you know of that are kind of hot either? Have you ever been with one?" He looked a little too interested in that idea. Sirius always had been a bit of a kinky womanizer.

"On that note." Remus stood up. "I'll come by a few days after school lets out."

"Anytime mate. It'll be great to have you here with Harry. I'm hoping we'll get on great but having you here, as someone that he already knows, it might make him more comfortable."

Remus gave him a one armed hug before heading back out through the Floo and Sirius turned to head back upstairs.

"Everything alright downstairs?" Amelia asked from the bed. She had the pillows against the large ornate headboard behind her and was comfortably situated in the middle of the bed with a tray of breakfast goods in front of her.

Sirius grinned at the sight. He'd orchestrated a run in with her a few times over the last month and had finally worn her down until she agreed to go with him to dinner a few day ago. Wednesday had been their first date, then Thursday was their second, finally last night was their third. He'd taken her around to all of the places he'd missed most while he'd been locked away.

They went down to Brighton Beach for a stroll along the pebble beach and the pier, the next night they went out to Torquey to ride an old rail car from there to Plymouth and had street food, again by the seaside. She'd wondered aloud to him about how she found it rather odd that his two favorite places were by the seaside after being locked away in a sea-surrounded fortress. But it wasn't so much the sea aspect, but the life that was all along it. Kids were running and squealing, couples were having romantic liaisons, and the food to be found there was all the more appetizing.

Last night they had stayed in London and seen a play at the Shakespeare Globe. It wasn't a particularly good play, he couldn't even remember the name and for only 5 quid a person it didn't really matter, but the drinks after had been enjoyable and they wound up back at Grimmauld Place.

Waking up beside her had been quite a thrill. He hadn't slept with a woman for fifteen years and had been bound and determined to give her an excellent time in bed. Sirius was rather proud to have shown her an excellent time five times over until she nearly begged him to stop. He himself managed two excellent times.

Now here she was in all her glory, looking wonderfully ravished and famished.

"Everything is great. My friend Remus just stopped by to ask about holiday plans." He stripped off his bath robe and slid into the bed beside her, picking up the second coffee cup from her tray.

"That's nice. So it will be you, he and Harry for Christmas?"

"And we will be going to the Weasleys for dinner." He was very much looking forward to it. Molly and Arthur had been wonderful. After discovering that he'd been using them as a safe house for three years he really expected them to want him to stay away from them and their children forever, but instead they'd been understanding welcoming. They had been his family for so long that it would have been a knife to the heart if they'd cast him aside. Molly had already been over a few times to check on him and give suggestions for what to do with the place.

Molly was actually his first cousin through her mother, who was his fathers sister. He had never socialized with her though. Once his aunt married into the Prewitt line she'd been blasted off the family tree. He remembered seeing she and Arthur in Hogwarts, in the Gryffindor common room even, but hadn't thought much about them. His family had been so large that it hadn't really registered to him that the familial connection meant anything, let alone that they should be friends. Especially when he was a mere second year that was constantly getting into trouble and she was a seventh year who's priority seemed to be sneaking around with her boyfriend.

He was so looking forward to being surrounded by all the Weasley children again, and this time with Harry, whom he'd been writing to regularly and was writing back with an eagerness showing in the chicken scratch scrawl he wrote with. Harry seemed to be as excited for the holidays as he was.

"The look on your face." Amelia smiled and shook her head. "You are like an excited boy on Christmas morning already."

He felt it, and was unashamed. "How many presents do you think is too many? I'm currently leaning towards one for every year I missed." He asked honestly. There had been twelve missed birthdays that he'd tried to make up for with a Firebolt in Harry's third year, but now he was wanting to make up for Christmases as well.

"Maybe don't overwhelm him." Amelia suggested. "From what I hear from my niece he's quite down to earth. Perhaps get him something practical."

"So, not a motorbike?" He only half joked. He'd had one at sixteen and loved it.

Amelia choked slightly on her toast at that suggestion. "No" *cough* "Nothing that his parents would have murdered you over."

"Hey! James thought my motorbike was amazing."

"He wouldn't think that about his son getting one though." She exasperated. "I'm getting my niece a spa gift card. Can't you do something more along those lines?"

"But he isn't my nephew, he's... my Godson. My. My world right now really. It has to be more meaningful and important than that. I have so much to make up for." He said seriously. He'd felt truly selfish to have spent so long with the Weasley's while Harry was stuck with Lily's awful sister, acting as a veritable slave during his summers. But Harry was also spending the bulk of the year at Hogwarts with his friends and staying out of trouble, meanwhile Sirius felt that he would not have been capable of caring for Harry in the state he was in.

The state he was in for the first year at least he really wasn't capable of much of anything. As time went by the guilt weighted on him in regards to Harry more and more as he became stronger. Stronger physically and mentally, which meant capable. It seemed that Harry forgave him though. Ginny on the other hand... that may take a little more grovelling. He was up for that challenge as well.

"I'll figure something out later." He dismissed. "There's too beautiful of a woman in my bed right now."

Amelia rolled her eyes in response, but a slight blush came to her face. He loved that he was able to do that to her when she was so obviously skilled at schooling her physical responses.

()()()

"Hey." Ginny stepped out of the bathroom in her dorm to find Hermione spread out reading on her own bed .

"Hey. Did you mind if we exchanged Ancient Runes assignments?" Hermione asked her. She'd given Ginny a lot of helpful pointers when it came to writing out her homework assignments and they'd found that each of them had different views on approaching the topic assigned that really enhanced their own papers. They regularly shared their work.

"Yeah. No problem." Ginny had just stepped out of the shower and went to her bag to hand over the assignment before pulling on her pajama's. It was only nine, but she'd had a hard Quidditch practice and the short shower in the changerooms hadn't done much besides making her smell slightly better. Her muscles demanded more time under the hot water followed by sleep.

Hermione passed her her assignment after she'd changed and she stretched out on her bed.

"Um, Ginny?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah?" She answered distractedly.

"Have you and Harry... you know?"

Ginny looked up at her and blinked a few times. "Have we had sex?" Hermione was blushing from the question but nodded. But Ginny didn't find it at all embarrassing. "Not yet. But I'm on the potion just in case we get too carried away." She shrugged. "Why? Not that I'm overly eager to find out what you're getting up to with my brother." She smiled.

"Oh. Well. I just. I mean we've been going out for a few months. And he's been really sweet, and I just don't know if I'm moving too fast, or holding him back." Hermione bit her lip. "When we. I mean, when he... How far have you gone with Harry?" She finally asked.

Ginny screwed up her eyebrows, confused by the question. It sounded like Hermione was worried about being properly intimate with Ron. Not that Ginny and she talked about their relationships together, with her boyfriend being Hermione's best friend and Hermione's boyfriend being her brother, those discussions would be a little full of information they weren't very keen to know.

"We haven't had proper sex. But we've gotten rather carried away a few times. We've seen each other almost naked, and we're sort of... building up to it." Ginny admitted honestly.

Hermione sighed. "I just. I was raised in a rather stern household. I've only dated one person before and the most I did was kiss him chastely a few times. Now, with Ron, he makes me want to do more, but I keep pulling away when we get too carried away."

"What do you consider 'getting carried away'?" Ginny asked. "And please, not specifics. This is my brother you're talking about."

Hermione swallowed and blushed again. "Some heavy snogging. He um. He put his hand under my.."

"Skirt?" Ginny offered.

"No! My shirt." Hermione corrected quickly.

"That's it?" Ginny made a disbelieving face. She and Harry had passed that milestone almost immediately. The only thing that was keeping her from ripping off both of their clothes every time they were alone was the time constraints. Hell, if they could have booked a room in Hogsmeade the last visit she would have so they could finally consummate. But on the other hand they were still having an amazing time just being with each other.

Ginny's brow furrowed. "Is it because you were raised to wait for marriage or something, or are you just not feeling comfortable enough to take another step in the relationship?"

"My parents did teach me that you should wait until marriage." Hermione told her, though there wasn't the conviction behind the comment saying she quite believed in what she'd been taught. "But... I don't know." She pouted and pulled a pillow closer to her head to bury her face in.

She seemed to really be struggling with what was the right way to go about stepping forwards or backwards with her relationship. "Do you love him?"

Hermione raised her head from the pillow to meet Ginny's eye and Ginny saw the conflicting emotions there. She opened her mouth a few times to answer but was very hesitant about the correct reply.

"Look. Forget the fact that he's my brother." Ginny sat up and crossed her legs. "I won't tell anyone what you say. I promise. Now. Has he told you he loves you?"

Hermione shook her head no and sat up on her bed as well. "When we're together we mostly snog or join in on other conversations around us. I'm attracted to him, that is rather obvious. But he is mostly interested in food and Quidditch. He doesn't really care about the Muggle world I grew up in, nor is he as focused on his studies as I am. He just can't be bothered to put in the effort to do better. But I still like him a lot."

Ginny heard what she was saying. Hermione and Ron were pretty different people. He was hands on, and though he'd gotten better over the years, he was more of the shoot first ask questions later type. Hermione was very studious and loved a good conversation. They had quite the different interests. Sometimes those relationships worked, sometimes they didn't. As Hermione had come to mean a lot to Ginny, she'd hoped that Hermione and Ron's relationship would work out.

Ginny moved over to sit on Hermione's bed beside her. "You know, if you and Ron don't work out it isn't going to affect our friendship. I don't think it will stop you and Ron from being friends either."

Hermione's eyes glistened just a little bit. "Really? I mean. I haven't decided anything. It's just that there is this voice in the back of my head saying that I'm not comfortable going any further with him."

"And that's fair. You shouldn't feel obligated to do something more with him just because of how long you've been together." Ginny told her and wrapped an arm around her because she looked like she could do with a hug. "I say think on it. Make a pro's and con's list, envision what your relationship is going to look like down the line. Just, please don't break his heart. If you get nasty with him I will have to hurt you a little bit." She teased.

Hermione giggled. "Right. I break his heart, you break my face. I remember." She smiled.

"Feel better now you've talked it out?" Ginny asked.

"A lot." Hermione sighed. "It had been weighing on me a lot. And honestly, you're reaction to it was one of the things that was worrying me."

Ginny shrugged. "Ron is a big boy. You are his first girlfriend. It would be crazy to think that you would be his only."

Hermione turned her head to study Ginny's face properly. "What about you and Harry though? Neither of you have had any previous relationships." She pointed out. "You still seem like you're going pretty strong."

"We are." She said almost wistfully. "I certainly have no plans of ending things with him." She assured her. "But we also have a lot more of the same interests that you and Ron don't. Plus, there's this animalistic attraction that makes me want to rip his clothes of and have my way with him." She bit her lip and stared off, smiling into the middle distance.

Hermione snickered at that. "Yeah. I've seen the way you two look at each other. I want that, but maybe I'm too reserved of a person to get that goofy love-sick look you two sport." She lay down again. "Do you think Ron is seriously invested in this relationship? He hasn't dragged me off into a broom cupboard in a while."

Ginny shook her head. "He hasn't said anything to me. Maybe you two should have a serious talk if you're not comfortable with how things are going."

Hermione didn't say anything. She just hugged her pillow and looked off pensively. Ginny squeezed her arm and moved over to sit back on her bed and keep reading through Hermione's translation of their assignment.

She and Harry had been getting on wonderfully. From her perspective anyways, but it felt like he was on the same page as she. They kept sneaking off for some alone time here and there, but when they were in a group they always managed to find something to carry on about conversation wise. He was funny, and insightful, and damn sexy. There is no way she was going to give up on their relationship without a fight, even if he wasn't as invested as she was.

Which brought her back to a problem she'd been having.

"Er, Hermione? Just to pull you out of your brooding for a minute." Hermione looked over at her with her eyes clearing to focus on her. "I don't know what to get Harry for Christmas."

It took the girl a minute to process what she'd just been told before she grinned. "He's a hard one to buy for isn't he?"

Ginny groaned. "I don't want to do something basic, like sugar quills and some chocolate frogs. That's what you get for friends. I want something more meaningful than that, but how do I do that on a budget?"

"Harry won't care about how much you spend." Hermione dismissed.

Ginny knew that much from what he'd told her of how he grew up. He'd probably be completely happy if she got him a treat from Honeydukes, but it wasn't good enough from her perspective.

"I think the best present he ever got, according to him, was a photo album from Hagrid that he received in his first year. He would probably be over the moon about anything you'd give him but be really touched if it was from the heart."

Ginny had seen the photo album he had. His parents had looked very happy in the photo's there. After being deprived of hearing anything about his parents for his whole life, of course that would mean a lot to him. He'd probably love anything that had to do with his parents.

"Oh!" Ginny exclaimed. A light bulb had gone off in her head. Something that would be possibly quite difficult to procure for him, but Harry would be bound to love it.

()()()

The holidays came upon them quickly.

Harry was very much looking forward to spending his holidays with Sirius and Remus, as he was instructed to call him when they weren't in a professional setting. He'd spent all of his school breaks, save for the summers, at Hogwarts. It had been nice to have his dorm to himself, the food was always excellent, and really anything was better than going back to Privet Drive. But this was the first time he felt like he was actually going to have a Christmas.

Hermione and Neville had told him off for not sharing his home life with them when they'd found out. Otherwise they claim they would have invited him home with them for the breaks, not that the Dursley's would have granted him permission to leave and actually enjoy himself elsewhere on his time off, but their sentiment was nice, if reprimanding.

He was especially happy that he was going to be at the Weasley's for Christmas dinner. Sirius had spoken of it like it was Valhalla, and Ron had gone on about playing Quidditch at their paddock. Ginny wanted to show him around the property and take him down into the village of Ottery , which she claimed was a winter wonderland in the snow. It was shaping up to be the best Christmas ever and he was basically vibrating with excitement.

"You alright there?" Ginny smiled beside him.

"Great. Why?" He beamed. They were at breakfast, this morning the bulk of the students would be leaving on the train, but he and Ginny and Ron would be heading down to Hogsmeade and using Floo to get to the Burrow where he'd meet up with Sirius and continue on to Grimmauld Place. He'd wondered why he couldn't just use the Floo in Remus' office that was tapped into Sirius' grate, but didn't question it because it meant more time with Ginny and his friend. And he was just eager to see the Burrow as well.

"You are all fidgety."

"Oh." He hadn't realized. But supposed it was true. "I'm just really excited." He told her in confidence, lowering his voice.

She squeezed his hand in understanding and gave him a soft kiss. "I'm sure Sirius is just as eager as you are." She assured him. "He always was quite an excitable pup around the holidays."

Harry laughed loudly, causing a few heads to turn his direction. He then reeled in his amusement to a chuckle and shook his head. He was in too good a mood to be embarrassed about his outburst.

"Are you all packed up? Any last minute business to attend to before we go?" Ginny asked him.

"I've been packed for days save for my toiletries." He admitted. "Ready to go whenever you are." He turned over to Ron who was across the table. "You nearly ready?" Except Ron had a mouth full of food and half a plate of breakfast still in front of him. He also indicated over to Hermione, who looked to be waiting for him to finish up so they could say goodbye before she took the train to London.

"Great!" Ginny pushed Harry to get up. "We'll just meet up with you at the tower when you're finished up."

It was nice to see that Ginny was as excited to head home for the holidays as he was. Except that half way back to the tower she pulled him into an alcove behind a tapestry and pushed him back against the wall with a feral grin on her face. Apparently she was in a rush for a different reason.

"Mmm, should have pulled you into somewhere with a door." She whispered a few minutes later. His hand was under her shirt and bra, kneading her breast while he trailed kisses down her neck.

They'd been trying not to make any noise, which had become a sort of hot challenge for them over the past few weeks. But when her hand went down to his trousers to rub her hand up and down him there he was wishing they'd wound up in a more private location as well.

"Think the guys will be in my dorm?" He asked, knowing the answer was yes.

She moved her hand around to his hip and pulled him closer so they could grind up together. "Mmm, not enough time to go to the Prefects Bathroom or the Change rooms either."

Harry sighed through his nose and pushed her hips back against the wall, pulling his body away from hers regretfully. "We really should get up there."

"I know." Her eyes opened and she ran her hands through his hair, something she knew would make him melt and do whatever she wanted.

He'd been warned on their first meeting that she was someone who got her way, and she hadn't been manipulative or petulant about it but he did notice that if he initially suggested they do something, she would sometimes gently suggest another option. He had no objection to her methods whatsoever.

"I know we're not going to get much time together over the holiday. Certainly not alone time together." She sounded like she was pouting.

"I'm going to miss you too." He teased.

Ginny grinned. "I love you." She pulled him back down for a kiss.

Ten minutes later they made it to Gryffindor Tower, each still worked up, but without ample time to rectify that problem. Harry was silently praying that they'd manage to steal away out of prying eyes over the break. They hadn't been together, like 'been together', for weeks now. Something was always interfering, and now that he knew what it could be like his wank sessions were less satisfying. Still good, just not as amazing as even snogging her was.

They split up to head off to their own dorms and get their bags. Ron was in their dorm but looking a little glum.

"Alright mate?" Harry asked him.

"Yeah. Fine." He replied unconvincingly. "You ready?" He pulled on his coat and slung his bag over his shoulder.

Harry grabbed his own things. He didn't want to pry into Ron's mood, he'd seemed fine at breakfast a half hour ago. It could have to do with not seeing Hermione for three weeks. "Ready. Gin will meet us in the common room."

"Yeah. I'm going to head on to Fred and Georges ahead of you guys. I just. I'll see you there." He headed out at a brisk pace down the stairs.

Harry was close enough behind him to watch him head out the portrait hole. He sat in one of the chairs to wait for Ginny, hoping she'd have a little more insight into what had happened.

"Sorry. I thought I was all set, but very nearly forgot something important for a certain someone that he'll need Christmas morning." She grinned, insinuating it was for him.

"Really? What was that? A box of Zonko's best products perhaps?" She'd been alluding to this gift she had for him for two weeks at least, and he'd told her time and time again that he'd love it no matter what, but she seemed especially proud of it.

"Nope, but it will bring you all kinds of amusement. It did for me!" She grinned and then looked around. "Did Ron not come back yet?"

"He headed out ahead of us. Something was up with him. He was all mopey." There was a glint in her eye. She did know what was going on with Ron. "What?"

Her expression turned concerned and a little sad. "I have an idea of what happened. No confirmation so I don't really want to jinx it by saying anything."

"You can't even tell me?" Harry tried batting his eyelashes at her.

They started for the portrait hole. "If I tell you I don't need other people listening in." She whispered. He nodded and took her hand.

Once they were out of the grounds and Filch let them out past the gates he cast her a sideways glance. Inside he was still bouncing up and down in excitement, but if there was something he could do to make his mate's Yule better he wanted the information on how to try. Ron had become a really good friend.

Ginny hesitated at his imploring eyes but gave in. "Hermione may have mentioned to me a bit ago about how she and Ron are just two very different people. And it is my understanding that she would be the type of person to want to use this time apart from each other to decide whether they should continue their relationship, or end it and try to be just friends."

That was news to Harry. Had he been so wrapped up in his own world to not notice that his best friend was unhappy in her relationship? He still hadn't managed to pry from Neville who he'd been snogging, and he had most certainly been snogging someone and not telling. He had hickeys on his neck one time he'd come back to the dorm.

He stopped in his tracks. "Do my friends just not want to confide in me?" He worried.

Ginny stopped too and looked up at him in surprise. "Harry. I don't think they don't want to confide in you. Hermione just needed some girl talk one night, I happen to be a girl as you well know."

"Okay. I can understand that, but what about Neville? The two of them were really my only friends until a few months ago and neither of them are talking to me about this stuff. Shouldn't they?"

"Well." Ginny thought on it. "Are you sharing with them? Have you and Neville had any guy talk where you tell him a story of what we get up to in the prefects bathroom, and he tells you what he's actually doing in the greenhouse." She hypothesized.

Harry shook his head. "I wouldn't spread around stories of what you and I get up to together."

"It isn't spreading stories." Ginny smiled and stepped closer to him. "It's called 'sharing' or 'confiding'." She reached up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Babe, you have to give a little to get a little."

It didn't take him long to think that through and realize that he hadn't been talking to his friends about his relationship either. "Yeah, okay." He said begrudgingly and gave her a chaste kiss before they continued down to the village.

"Wait. Does that mean that you've told Hermione about what we've gotten up to?" He asked in alarm.

Ginny giggled a bit. "Not in detail I promise." She placated. "She just knows that I'm on the potion, and we haven't had sex yet. But that we're rather open to the possibility of changing that fact soon."

"If we ever get a suitable amount of time alone together." He pouted. Every time it looked like they would be able to slip away unnoticed for an afternoon or something, they'd get interrupted.

"It's those freaking adoring fans." She joked. "We are just obviously too beloved. We should really work on that. Get caught kicking a puppy or something."

"Hey! This isn't a joking matter!" He laughed. "And you are the one that hauled me into the broom closet all demanding and whatnot."

"You're right. I'm sorry, I'll never do that again."

"Well, lets not go that far." He kissed her cheek.

()()


	10. Happy Christmas

The second he came through the Floo there were arms around him and his glasses were knocked askew from being pressed up against what he assumed was a shoulder.

"So glad you're coming to mine for the holidays!" Sirius beamed in his face when he pulled back to hold him at arms length.

"Give the boy some space." Mrs. Weasley's voice came before Sirius was pushed aside and her happy face filled Harry's vision now. She brushed some soot off of his shoulders and then cupped under his chin. "How have you been doing dear?"

"He's been fine mum." Ginny moaned. "He could probably do with some room to move though. And breathe." She had come through the Floo first and already recovered. Ron had gone through before either of them had even gotten to the twins flat, who still had a few more hours of work left in the day.

"I'm doing great Mrs. Weasley. Thank you for inviting me for Christmas dinner." Harry said, happy that he was properly using his voice around his girlfriends mum.

"Oh, you can stop in anytime over the holidays. I'm sure my boys wouldn't say no to another here for their Quidditch games. No doubt Ginny wouldn't mind it either." She looked pointedly over to her daughter then, who responded with a big cheeky grin.

"I'll want to see Sirius' place too." Ginny told Sirius with a challenging look in her eye.

"It's Mr. Black." Mrs. Weasley told her sternly.

It was a voice that would have made Harry do exactly as told, but Ginny just scoffed. "If he wanted me to call him that, then I'd like to see him ask me to himself." She starred Sirius down in.

Harry fought not to smile at the way Sirius was just cowering under Ginny's eye. Surely if he was in dog form he would hide behind something in the room.

There were a lot of something's in the room to choose from. He was in what had to be the sitting room. There were couches and arm chairs occupying most of the floor space and shelves on every available wall space. He could see the stairs leading up to the next level, and right into the kitchen from his vantage point on either side of the stairs too, they may as well have been a ladder for how steep they were.

The space was so cozy and warm. It smelled like fresh baking and warm soup. He'd only just finished breakfast about an hour ago, but he would find the room for whatever that delicious smell was if it was offered.

"It is a sign of respect for his status in our society young lady." Mrs. Weasley continued. She didn't sound too angry, just scolding.

"Doesn't change the facts." Ginny said walking away. "I'm putting my bag in my room, I'll be right back down." She called back to Harry with a wink.

"I really don't mind Molly. After everything she and I have been through, it would be entirely strange for her to address me how our society would demand." Sirius told her. Then he turned back to Harry. "We've been invited to stay for lunch and I accepted."

"Sounds great!" Harry smiled. "It smells amazing, and I know Ginny wanted to show me around too."

"No closed doors." Was all Mrs. Weasley said before patting his shoulder kindly and heading back to the kitchen.

Harry sputtered a bit. As if he would try to do something disrespectful like that under their roof. On his first visit.

Sirius chuckled and took up comfortably on the closest couch, indicating for Harry to do the same.

Harry's eyebrows went up seeing how at home his godfather was. Even after living here for so long as a dog, he wasn't a dog anymore and this wasn't his house, but he was so relaxed. The heads of the Weasley family must have truly been over the fact he'd been deceiving them and using their home as a safe house for so long.

"I thought we'd go to Gringotts tomorrow." Sirius said.

"Oh! Great. I've wanted to for a while, but didn't know what to expect from this holiday really. I spent all my previous one's at Hogwarts." He chose a spot and got comfortable on the other end of the couch from his godfather.

"I know." Sirius told him sadly. "You've had a lot of questions, and I hope that I've helped with answering them. The archives from the Prophet must have helped quite a bit too."

"It did. I really can't believe that I hadn't checked out all of that as soon as I came to Hogwarts, but I was just so amazed with everything I was learning that I hadn't thought about it, and everyone else just assumed." He played off that it didn't bug him anymore, but it still did a bit. He'd been rather ignorant about it.

Sirius took a breath and hesitated before his next sentence. "Later, after I've given you the tour of Grimmauld Place, I want to have a serious discussion about your life with the Dursley's. And then talk to Dumbledore about you not going back there at the end of your sixth year."

Harry felt his face heat up at that. He had been manhandled as a child and that led to a few injuries. Dudley would never get in trouble for punching him in the arm or the stomach, and there was a lot of neglect growing up. Things got much better when he started going off to Hogwarts. During the summers he would just be given a list of chores, feed himself and then disappear into his room. He was basically their House Elf.

His feelings about sharing all this with Sirius though he wasn't sure exactly what they were. Embarrassment? Shame?

"Hey." Sirius put a hand on his arm. "I promise I won't kill them unless you tell me to. I just want to know. I only saw a small bit of what your life was like the summer I escaped. You were their slave, and it's been killing me that I couldn't get you out of there right away. It's actually for selfish reasons that I want to know. I've been imagining the worst, and I just need to know." He told him softly.

"It's bad." Ginny said from behind Harry. He jumped, not having heard her come back downstairs. She settled down on the armchair across from them. "But it isn't terribly horrible. Just sad and makes you want to cut on them a little bit."

"You guys have talked about it?" Sirius asked, more to Ginny.

Ginny shrugged and smiled over at Harry. "I can be very persuasive." She winked.

Just like that, Harry felt better. Ginny had taken her new knowledge of his upbringing well. Her slight desperation to make it all better by smothering him with kisses and love had made it quite easier to tell her too. That same approach wouldn't work with telling Sirius, but at least Harry knew he would be able to get the words out.

"So, you wanted to show me around?" Harry asked, wanting to change the air of the conversation.

"Yeah!" Ginny stood up. "We'll start by going up to check if Ron wants to come. His room is at the top of the house." She went to the stairs.

The expression 'top of the house' had Harry slightly confused but looking up the stairs from the ground level he understood. Now he was eager to see what this place looked like from the outside. There were stairs leading up at all sorts of angles and doors leading off here and there along the way as well.

At the top of the first set of stairs she opened one door and walked in. "This is my room." It wasn't very large. The bed and dresser took up the bulk of the space. Her bag was sitting on top of a small vanity, and an upright steamer trunk was used as a closet. "Tiny, I know. But I don't spend much time in here." She said cheerfully at his expression. "And really." She pulled him closer to her. "The bed has plenty of space." She told him quietly before kissing him.

Harry smiled against her mouth but felt uncomfortable doing any more than a few kisses under her parents' roof. "We were doing a tour, were we not?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and pulled back. "Fine." She twirled her finger, indicating that he should turn around and go back on the landing. "That's my parent's room." She pointed across the landing to the opposite door. "With every extra kid they just sort of, added another floor. That's why the house looks the way it does." She climbed the stairs ahead of him.

"This one was my brother Bill's room initially when Charlie came along." She said on the next floor.

"Then it was the twins after Bill moved out, now it's a guest room I suppose, but probably still quite dangerous." She chuckled. Having met the twins, he could only imagine what surprises would be in store for any unsuspecting potential guests.

"This room was Charlie and Percy's. First one then the other. Charlie shuffled rooms when the twins needed to be upgraded because Ron had come along." She moved up to the top floor. "And this is Ron's room." She knocked on the door. "My room was always the nursery since I'm the last to occupy it."

Ron hadn't responded to the knock, but Ginny pushed open the door anyways. The room was bright orange with posters of the Chudley Cannons, and one of a girl from the Holyhead Harpies that Harry didn't know the name of, but from her uniform he knew why she was up there.

"You okay?" Ginny asked Ron. He was laying on his bed with his hands behind his head.

"Fine. I don't want to talk about it." Ron grumbled.

"I'm going to show Harry around the property. You want to come?"

"No." He said quietly.

"Alright." She stepped backwards to the door.

"Wait." Ron turned to her and sat up abruptly. "You know, don't you?" He accused.

Ginny put her hands up. "I don't know anything. Not for sure anyways."

"What do you know?" Ron demanded.

"Are you kidding me? I'm not playing that game and potentially getting it wrong and making things worse. You want to mope up here over something, then by all means go right ahead."

Harry felt uncomfortable and wondered if he should slowly backed down the stairs to get away.

"Ginny. Tell me what Hermione told you."

"No." She stood her ground. "If you are upset about something, then I am not going to potentially make it worse by thinking it is about something someone chose to confide in me about, when it might not be. That will just make everything worse."

"Hermione told you, didn't she. She told you she doesn't think we're working anymore." Ron admitted sadly.

Harry's heart went out to him. Ron really liked Hermione. He'd confessed once that he thought she was too good for him, not that Hermione would think along those lines as she knew different people had different strengths. But if Ginny decided that she and he were too different he would be absolutely crushed.

Ginny sighed and went to sit down beside her brother. "She told me that she still likes you though. A lot. Just that you two are very different and don't talk very much."

"We talk all the time! We barely do anything but talk." Ron complained.

"Do you talk? Or does she talk at you?" Harry joined the conversation from the doorway. "Hermione can carry on a conversation all by herself for hours. I've seen it."

Ron was silent for a moment staring at him, then his shoulders sagged. "Yeah. I guess that's true. It is mostly her talking. But it's not like I mind. Because I'm usually interested in what she talks about and I swear I learn more from listening to her than I do from some of the professors."

"Did she tell you to make a pro/con list over the holidays?" Harry couldn't help the smile that came to his face asking that question. Hermione really liked lists.

Both Ron and Ginny grinned a bit at that. "Yeah, she did." Ron admitted. "I just didn't realize there was anything wrong, you know? She's been busy with school and wanting to pull together this rough draft of a book of the last war. I've been busy with Quidditch. But we're still snogging and what-not. I haven't, like, pressured her to go further than she wants to." His ears tinged pink at that.

From Ginny's expression, she knew something about Hermione's feelings on that that Ron didn't, but wasn't going to share. And curious as Harry was, Hermione was his best female friend and he probably wouldn't be comfortable knowing where she drew the line in her relationships.

Ginny patted Ron's leg and stood up. "I say do up the list. Fight for her if you want to, but if you are back and forth on it then you might want to decide to just be friends now, because it will only get harder to be friends down the line if things go sour."

Ron acknowledged that he heard what she said and they left him there to ponder and Ginny led the way back downstairs. Sirius was sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee talking to Mrs. Weasley. He and Ginny grabbed their coats and headed outside after she gave her mum a ballpark estimate on how long they'd be gone.

The view of the Burrow from outside, even knowing what the inside looked like, was a sight to behold. It made him happy. Why he didn't know. Perhaps it was because it was truly the first magical house he'd ever been in, and it looked it. The lopsided additions piled one on top of the other and the smoke coming out of the many chimneys. It was so quirky and great!

Ginny led him first over to the orchard, pointing out what the outbuildings were along the way. Her dad's shed, the broom shed, the animal house for their chickens and pigs. It was a very self-sufficient property.

The orchard was especially amazing. Even though it was the dead of winter there was still fruit coming off of some of the trees. Ginny explained how her mother had charmed the atmosphere around the trees so that it could sort of be tricked into thinking it was a different time of year than the actual season. Magic really was amazing. There were rows of fruit bearing trees and various plants all in different stages of growth. He could imagine Ginny and her brothers growing up and just running out to the garden for a snack of snap peas or a pear.

"This is amazing." Harry told Ginny as she pulled him along down the rows of trees. "Where exactly are you taking me?"

"To the one's at the end. It'll be warmest there."

"Warmest?" He repeated. It was cold out, sure. But he wasn't freezing or anything. The wind was down, the sun was shining and it was kind of pleasant.

His understanding kicked in when they reached the ripest tree near the end and Ginny turned around to face him and started unbuttoning her jacket. "Three weeks and we don't know how often we'll get to see each other. We're also more alone than we have been in a long time." She gave him a sultry smile.

His brain took a little longer to register what was going on. He'd been in 'innocent tour of her home' mode, just properly spoken to her mother for the first time and here she was stripping off her layers of clothing in her family's magically warmed orchard.

They shouldn't be doing this here. Now. But it had been so long since they'd been properly alone, and she looked so good in that tight fitting t-shirt. It was ridden up enough that he could make out the line of her knickers where her trousers hung low enough. He stared at that line as his blood flowed south.

"Ginny." He said softly, painfully.

It seemed disrespectful to let their hormones take charge right now. The first time he'd been invited over and if he was found ravishing the only daughter in the field there was a very small chance that he'd be invited back, if he even managed to make it out alive, she did have six brothers after all. What he wouldn't have given to have his invisibility cloak right then.

Ginny stepped towards him and pulled down on the zip on his jacket, all the while maintaining eye contact with him and fueling his desire for her even more with the lust in her eyes. If he didn't give in to her wishes, there was a chance she would be the one not letting him off the property alive.

He swallowed deeply and fought the urge to look over his shoulder and guarantee no one could see them nor were they headed out here.

"Harry." She said in a sexy whisper. His jacket was now open and her hand was at the button on his trousers.

It had only been about two hours since they'd been glued together in an alcove, but it was never enough.

"Fuck it." He quickly shrugged off his jacket and pulled her down to the ground to lay on top of it with him over her. He ignored her triumphant look as his mouth attacked every exposed piece of skin on her neck. Her hands wandered all over his back and into his hair and he rocked against her and was rewarded with a delicious moan.

"Been too long." She moaned and tugged at his trousers in an attempt to pull them down.

"Wait." He pulled back and grabbed her coat to place under her as well. It really was quite warm on the ground where they were, but it was still the hard ground, and if she was wanting to go as far as he assumed she was, then the extra comfort would be appreciated.

The tree they were under was blocking them from view of anyone that might be on their way over to them, and it was too thick full of leaves and fruit for anyone flying overhead to see as well.

He pulled back again to take his trousers off. Her heated kisses were making his erection almost painful. It had taken a bit to calm it down after their earlier liaison, and now it was seeking revenge and fulfillment.

Ginny slid off her trousers as well and he couldn't help but stare at her knickers, wishing her could feel what was hiding underneath them with something other than his fingers. They had both expressed the want to try using their mouths on each other, but this was not that place or time for that. He came back to lay on top of her and they both groaned at the contact below.

Their lips were locked as they moved together. Her hand slipped between them and she grasped him firmly in her hand and his eyes rolled back in his head as her finger brushed over his tip. Her other hand moved down and slid his pants over his bum.

He wasn't going to question it anymore. She made him feel so amazing, and he wasn't going to stop her from doing what she wanted to him. It was as her second hand fumbled slightly between them that he tried to use some of his remaining brain power to figure out what she was doing.

Harry's eyes snapped open as the tip of his erection became incredibly warm.

Ginny's eyes were wide and determined staring back at him. She pumped her hand slowly up and down his length, moving herself a little further down with each movement, and his erection a little further inside her with each thrust.

His eyes unfocused from the sensation of the wet heat that was now encompassing him. As he slid inside her further and further her found there was a point that restricted him from moving all the way at the gentle pushing that their combined movements were doing. "Ginny." He breathed out.

"Do it." She begged.

How he knew what she was talking about he couldn't explain, but at her request he pulled back slightly and thrust harder until her barrier gave way and he was buried completely inside her.

Ginny gasped in pain and arched her back. There was a moment of panic for him seeing her like that. Her eyes were closed tight, a few tears leaked out from the corners and down into her hair along her temple and he kissed one of the tears away. He had to clench himself tight in order to stop his body from pulling back and thrusting again until she gave the go-ahead. Because it felt so freaking amazing and he was desperate for more.

She took a few shaky breaths before she relaxed and he started moving as delicately as possible, watching her face for any more signs of pain. "So. Full." She moaned in pleasure. That caused him to completely un-clench and make more confident thrusts.

This was the most amazing sensation he'd ever felt, and it was causing an orgasm to build up inside of him at a rapid pace. He knew she wasn't anywhere close to ready, and he also knew it was going to wind up being a quintessential first time coupling experience, but there was nothing on earth that was going to be able to stop him or slow him down from reaching his finish in-.

Harry let out a long and satisfying groan as he released himself inside her properly for the first time ever.

He collapsed on top of her as though he'd just finished running a marathon, rather than having spent all of one minute having the most satisfying experience of his life.

They said nothing to each other as he recuperated, but he didn't get the feeling that she was disappointed. Perhaps she'd been expecting that to happen their first time.

"I will pray to whoever you want me to if you let me keep trying that until you have the same reaction I just did."

She chuckled in his ear and the movement caused him to twitch inside her. He was not yet soft, and still in place. She gasped at the sensation. "It's okay. And yes. You can try that again." She placed a kiss just below his ear.

He lifted himself up onto his elbows and looked down at her with what he knew was to have been the dopiest of smiles. "You know, I had thought our first time would happen a little differently than that." He told her happily.

"So had I. But I didn't want to wait anymore. And I don't think there is anywhere in the castle that would allow us to sneak off for a whole night on a transfigured bed or something with out getting caught." She rationalized.

A whole night alone with her would have been ideal, but either way he just wanted to be with her in this way again and again, so he didn't really care anymore. So long as she was okay with it.

And they were still in the orchard at her home.

She must have seen that realization dawn on his face. "Wait. Don't move." She dug her hand down into her coat pocket and found her wand and a cloth. She placed the cloth under her bum and her wand on the grass beside them. "Okay."

Her eyes rolled back in her head slightly as he withdrew from her. He couldn't help looking down at where they had been joined and was slightly alarmed at the sight of red.

"Tergeo." The red vanished. Ginny had grabbed her wand and cleaned up the mess on him and herself.

"Are you okay?" He asked in worry.

"I'm fine Harry." She blushed. "It happens to girls on their first time." She assured him.

After they'd pulled their clothes and coats back on Harry sat back against the tree and pulled her to sit with him with her back resting against his front. His body felt so satisfied, but his mind kept making him get assurances from Ginny that yes she was okay, and yes she still wanted to try that again. They sat there for less than a half hour with him mostly just awestruck with how incredibly lucky he felt.

()()()

Harry was both nervous and excited about what was about to happen. Gringotts trips for him had always been a little exciting, it was the only time he'd been on something resembling an amusement park ride. The cart he had to take to his vault probably had some kind of magical safety on it, but since he couldn't actually see anything keeping him from pitching over the side on a sharp turn, it felt like it was a million times more dangerous than a roller coaster. The stalagmites and abyss below added to the effect.

And the Goblin manning the cart.

This time though he was here for something other than just refilling his stash of coins. He was going to be sitting down with one of the higher up Goblins and going over his family accounts and investments.

The book that Bill Weasley had sent him was a big help when it came to understanding how Goblin's appreciated being treated. It also helped that Sirius was with him, he had been in the bank a few weeks previously to go over his own family vaults. Sirius had had a big smile on his face when he spoke of how he'd transferred all of his outlaying cousins vaults into his own. Harry had been told how awful Sirius' family had been to him, just for being a Gryffindor and not fighting for Voldemort, so he understood Sirius' hatred for the family.

Apparently not all of Sirius' cousins were all bad though. He'd reached out to one that had been blasted off the family tree in one of the sitting rooms at Grimmauld Place. Andromeda had married a Muggleborn named Ted and for that she was cut off. She had a daughter that was an Auror named Nymphadora, yet another odd wizarding name, and they had been invited over to the Tonks residence for a New Years Eve dinner.

Harry and Sirius had spent all of the previous afternoon just talking and getting to know one another better when they arrived at Sirius' place after lunch. Harry had told him a glossy overview of his childhood and they both managed to make it through that.

Sirius was a really cool person. And he really thought of the Weasley's as family, which made Harry like him all the more. And while Sirius hadn't said anything to him after Ginny and he returned from his 'tour of the Burrow property', it was pretty clear he'd known they hadn't been just been out for a stroll. It had been a little awkward for both of them when Sirius basically had the 'what are your intentions' speech over tea yesterday.

Harry completely understood that Sirius had bonded with Ginny over their three years together, as dog and its human, and she was important to him. But she was important to Harry too, and he told Sirius as much. Ginny was his first girlfriend and the first person he'd ever said 'I love you' to, romantically or otherwise. He didn't want anything to come between their relationship.

He was pretty sure that his furious blush and flustered response of her being important to him was enough to relay that because Sirius switched the subject to Quidditch after and started telling stories of his dads days as a Chaser for Gryffindor.

"Mister Potter, Lord Black." A goblin greeted them tersely upon their entrance to the marble foyer of the institution. "Follow me please." The stout being turned away from them abruptly and walked as fast as his little legs could carry them toward the lift at the back of the reception area. It made sense given their size that there weren't any stairs to take them up to the next level of the bank, but Harry hadn't noticed the lack of them until just then.

Sirius and he followed the goblin into the lift with out saying a word. The goblin too said not a word to them, even when exiting the lift and showing them to an ornate office, with an ornate desk that was surprisingly regular height. Behind it sat a goblin wearing a jewel encrusted suit jacket.

Harry blinked at the ostentatiousness of it all for a moment before he remembered himself and bowed.

"Thank you for taking the time to see me on what is probably a very busy day. I appreciate every minute you have to spare for my business dealings."

"You may take a seat Mister Potter. You wish for Lord Black to join you?" The goblin behind the desk asked, the one that had guided them there closed the door to the office behind them on the way out.

"I would like him to join us if you don't mind. I'm afraid I have a limited knowledge of accounts and investments, having him here would be helpful as I will be able to ask him later any questions that I have so I might not take up too much of your busy time."

The goblin bowed his head in what Harry construed as appreciation. "I am Reshkeh, holder of keys for the most esteemed of vaults for Gringotts."

"A most important position for a well deserving goblin such as yourself I am sure." Harry said, trying to remember what he was supposed to say and when.

"Enough of the pomp and circumstance young one." Reshkeh waved his hand at the two seats in front of him. "Sit down and we can go over your assets."

Harry and Sirius took their designated seats and both presented the goblin with their wands for verification. Reshkeh inspected them and then brought out a golden bowl and placed it on his desk with a dagger, looked to Harry expectantly.

The book he had read had mentioned this as well. Verification of blood ties to family vaults required actual blood.

Harry stood and took the dagger in his hand. It was surprisingly light. However, it was not surprisingly ridiculously ornate. Steeling himself with a deep breath through his nose he put the tip of the dagger to his pinky finger on his left hand and pushed down gently until a drop of blood appeared. He squeezed his finger and the single drop of blood went into the bowl.

"Is that enough?" He wasn't sure, the book hadn't mentioned how much blood was needed, just that it was needed. Muggle scientists wouldn't have needed much more than that to check for DNA. They would have only needed a swab of spit actually.

"That will suffice." Reshkeh said, and without getting up from his seat he cast a complicated spell and regarded a parchment that began glowing slightly at the corner of his desk. With a snap of his fingers then a tome appeared before him. "Now then, Mister Potter. You have four vaults to your name; your personal vault, which you have pulled from already, your mothers vault, your fathers vault, and the Potter family vault. In terms of total gold you have 1.3 million Galleons readily available. There are many investments that you have spread out across the magical and Muggle world including but not limited to Publications, Cosmetic companies, Oil companies and Timber. All have been broken down on the parchment before you with current values. You have three properties to your name; Potter Manor in St. Ives Cambridgeshire, a number 42 Cottage Lane in Godrics Hollow and number 4 Privet Drive in Surrey."

"What!?" Harry burst out. The investments and amount of Galleons had shocked and surprised him, but not like this. "I OWN THEIR HOUSE?!" He yelled. "Those horrible bastards!"

Reshkeh didn't look happy about the interruption. "Problem?"

"Yes." Harry spat out. "The people currently residing in Number 4 Privet drive have been-."

Sirius put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "I didn't know. But we'll talk about this later." His expression pleading with him to try and keep his head.

Harry took a deep meditative breath. "I apologize Reshkeh. Please continue." He managed.

"There is also all manner of items; treasures, clothing, books. Not all of it is itemized. If you would like an itemized list of your vaults there will be a cost associated with it."

The book Harry had read did not tell him this part, Sirius had. The book was written by a former curse-breaker about goblin/human interactions and goblin history. Sirius was the one that explained that the best way to get on a goblin's good side was to pay him for an unnecessary service. The goblins knew the difference between when a human knew it was unnecessary, but did it anyways, or if they were merely aristocratic and throwing their money around. The one's that knew it was unnecessary and paid for it anyways would be on the goblins good side. It was a way of paying a bribe with out paying a bribe.

"I would very much appreciate that. At what cost can I be expecting to be billed?" Harry said carefully.

"From the size of your vaults and the number of them it would be 260 Galleons for a detailed list. This includes only what is visible. Any closed trunks or wardrobes, drawers and the like will not be searched."

"I understand and approve of the amount. I will also be back once I am of age to transfer the contents of my parents vaults to my own and close them out so that you may have them to lease out to new clients."

It was a quick meeting, but that is how it was supposed to go.

"Good job pup." Sirius cuffed him on the shoulder in approval when they were on the steps leading out of the bank to Diagon Alley. "I know you were about to blow your top back there, for good reason, but you kept it together pretty well."

Harry couldn't believe that he had essentially been a slave to the Dursley's and called an ungrateful freak for so long, meanwhile he was their landlord. It was ridiculous. The nerve of them. They were the ungrateful ones. They'd been living rent and mortgage free since he'd lived there.

He'd walked out of the bank with several documents, one of them was the deed to the Privet Drive house and associated paperwork. He was going to go over that one carefully tonight.

"Thanks." He said morosely. "That was a lot of information back there."

"I know, but you've got a lot of time to go over everything, and while you can't touch three of the vaults for another eight months at least you have the knowledge now and you've met the goblin in charge and he's pleased with you." Sirius was looking down the alley, searching for something.

"Are you expecting someone?" Harry asked him of his behavior.

He looked back at him and gave him a bit of a sheepish expression. "No. I'm looking for something. For a.. lady friend."

Harry's eyebrows went up. Sirius hadn't mentioned having a girlfriend in their letters, or at all yesterday.

"Okay. Like a Christmas present?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I need to get something for Ginny. You'll help me with that, right?" While he wanted to get her something special and personal, he also wanted the assurance that she would really like it. Sirius had known her for longer than he did, he would be of help in finding something perfect.

Unfortunately Sirius cringed a bit at that. "Oh. Ginny's a tough one to buy for when you're just her friend. Or brother. Quidditch stuff would be too friendly a purchase, and she doesn't care for jewelry. Clothes would be too much and might offend her somehow. Sweets are too impersonal." He started listing off.

"Geez, I was looking for help, not a list of how to piss her off." Harry half-joked. Everything Sirius was saying made sense. She really wanted for nothing, and if he went overboard with purchasing something for her he knew she would just pretend that she liked it. He didn't want her to fake being grateful for something.

"You can't get her knickers either, she'll be opening the present in front of her family. That'd be a good way to get dead."

Harry felt the heat rise to his face. "I wasn't even considering that!" However, now the image was implanted in his mind of her in a sexy black lace thing. Laying back on Harry's new bed in his room at Grimmauld Place. It was a big king-sized bed. He shook his head. "I'm at a total loss. I've only had to buy for Hermione and Neville before, and they're straightforward. A book and a plant each with some kind of sweet. But with Ginny it's a whole new game." He took a breath. "What are you getting your girl?"

"Woman." Sirius corrected. "And I was actually leaning towards the knickers." He winked with a grin.

Well, that wouldn't work for him. He thought disappointedly. Looking around the Alley he checked out each of the shops. He didn't want to get her a pet, she didn't seem the type to be happy about getting beauty or bath products.

"Maybe I could get her tickets to a Quidditch game or something?"

"She'd like that!" Sirius agreed and started leading them towards a feminine shop.

Harry followed his godfather into the store with hesitation and wide eyes. There was a lot of perfume and feathers in this store. It was mercifully free of customers at this early hour though. Sirius seemed to know exactly what he wanted and Harry was stuck in front of a few racks of what appeared to be mere strings with triangles of lace attached. His eyes travelled up to the mannequin wearing the thing and it winked at him. It was all too much. He wanted to rush out of the shop, but didn't want to be seen coming out of it with out Sirius in tow. What if someone saw and told Ginny or one of her brothers that he'd been in there?

There was a bathrobe close by him. Bathrobes were safe enough to look at. He wasn't sure how long he was looking at it before Sirius chuckled beside him and tugged on his sleeve to get him to come back out into the Alley.

"You're dad was bad in those shops too. Well, he wasn't before he and Lily started going out. But once they did he didn't want anyone to assume what was going on under her clothes."

"Ew. That was my mum." Harry made a face.

Sirius laughed. "Alright. You're thinking Quidditch tickets for Ginny then?"

"Yeah. But Ron would like them too, and I can't get her the same thing I get her brother." He thought through. "She could probably use a new coat." He mentioned after seeing Madame Malkins.

"Hmm. Practical, not too expensive. I think she'd like that. You could have them add extra warming charms to it as well, and an undetectable expansion charm on the pockets. That could be damn useful." Sirius agreed.

"Okay." Harry smiled. She should be pretty happy with that. He'd make sure it was a nice wool one with a pleasing color. Something similar to what she had now, which was nice enough but had seen better days. She'd mentioned how often she had to reapply the charms to it because it was slightly too large, or the warming charms weren't sticking to it for as long. "Yeah. I think she'll really love it." Harry was now grinning.

"Great." Sirius led the way to the clothes shop. "Any idea what she's getting you?"

"No. But she's pretty damn proud of it." He chuckled. He could recall the day she'd figured out what she was giving him for Christmas. She'd been bouncing off the walls about it. It had been adorable.

They went into the clothing shop and it took them a half hour.

HALF AN HOUR.

Just to pick out a coat for her. There were so many different types for girls. There were basically two types for men; trench or leather. Girls apparently needed all sorts of different options. The sales lady was super helpful, but asked all kinds of questions he didn't have the answer to and Sirius had to come up with some responses. Finally they'd gotten the perfect coat with all the additional spells for warmth, water repelling, self cleaning, and undetectable expanded pockets. Sirius also suggested the add an armoring spell to it as well so it could shield her in case she got hit with a wayward spell.

Harry had been thrown by that one. Sirius just reminded him about Fred and George and that had Harry agreeing with him. He'd been told stories of the twins experimenting with all kinds of crazy things.

()()()

This was the first Christmas that Harry could remember ever truly being excited for. His first Christmas at Hogwarts had been great because of the festive air and wonderful food. It had also been the first time he'd received presents. Hagrid, Hermione and Neville had all gotten him a little something. That had been when he'd received his fathers invisibility cloak as well. It was a wonderful memory and every year since at school had been just as nice.

But now he was actually celebrating Christmas with people. His Godfather and Remus had been excited about it the night before and gotten rather inebriated and started sharing anecdotes. It had been very amusing, and they'd allowed Harry to have a few fingers of Firewhiskey as well. He wasn't a big fan of the taste, but by the end of the glass his belly had felt very nice and warm.

He awoke smiling in his bed in anticipation of the day.

Throwing back the blankets he pulled on his bathrobe and rushed down the stairs, behaving rather more like a young child. But it was how he felt.

"Happy Christmas!" Sirius shouted from the sitting room they'd put the Christmas tree up in. He was all smiles and had a Santa hat on his head. "You're finally awake!" He bound over and pulled him into a big hug.

"Happy Christmas Harry." Remus said from the sofa, rising to give Harry a hug also.

"Happy Christmas." Harry beamed and his eyes widened at the pile of gifts under the tree. He remembered seeing that many gifts under the tree at the Dursleys, but their tree had never looked quite as merry as the one here in Grimmauld Place. Sirius had waited for Harry to arrive before they decorated it. It involved quite a lot of tinsel and a dash of magic. The Dursley tree had always looked just a little too much like it came out of a magazine, as was Aunt Petunia's aim. "Where did all this come from?" He gestured to the gifts, there hadn't been that many there last night.

"Dobby went to distribute and collect the gifts last night." Sirius told him and handed him a mug of hot cocoa.

"Wow." Harry sat down looking at the pile.

"We'll just have to start at the top and work our way down." Sirius exclaimed, giving off the impression of one wanting to clap his hands together in excitement.

Remus chuckled at his friends exuberance. "We'll let you play Santa then and start handing them out."

Slowly the room began filling up with rumpled scraps of paper and the three men chuckled as they made their way through the gifts. Mrs. Weasley had made Sirius and Harry a jumper, the two of them had immediately pulled it on over their pajamas. Harry had also received several treats from Honeydukes from all of his friends, and Sirius had gone all out and gotten him a multi-compartment trunk, one of which was already filled with brand new Quidditch equipment, and another with clothes. He'd been appreciative of it, but exclaimed at the unnecessary grandeur of the gift, which Sirius waved off.

Harry had been at a loss as to what to get Sirius until Remus had told him about his old motorbike. At Sirius' suggestion of a coat for Ginny, he figured a leather jacket for Sirius would be a good call and Sirius had been quite happy with it.

All three of them had a good laugh over Ginny's gift to Sirius. She liked to bake holiday treats for all of her friends, even Remus got some, but Sirius' were all in the shape of bones and provided to him in a personalized dog bowl.

The last gift under the tree was a rather flat parcel addressed to Harry. It weighted about two pounds and felt like a file of some sort.

_For Harry, Love Ginny._ And there was an impression of her lips on the note.

Sirius and Remus had looked on waiting for him to unwrap it. He ripped off the first layer of paper to find another layer of paper underneath. Underneath that was a file folder. The tab on the folder read **James Potter 1971-1978, Gryffindor**.

The two grown men came closer when they saw that.

"She didn't!" Remus' jaw dropped.

"She did!" Sirius' eyes went wide. He seemed to be fighting the urge to snatch the folder from Harry's hands.

Harry took a breath and flipped open the folder.

**Student- James Potter Year- One****  
has been assigned detention  
Date(s)- September 5th, 1971 Time- 7:00pm Room- Transfiguration  
Reason for Detention- Flinging dung bombs onto Quidditch Pitch during Slytherin Practice  
Punishment- Cleaning and sanding down desks in classroom. presiding. M. McGonagall**

"This is... this is." Harry stammered and felt his nose twinge the way it does when he is about to sneeze, but he didn't have to sneeze.

"She stole his file from Filch's office!" Sirius stood up. "That is bloody fantastic!"

"I don't know how I should react to this." Remus admitted, still staring at the file rather dumbfounded. "I mean. I'm a professor."

"You're on holidays. It doesn't count." Sirius ignored his friends worry. "Let me see that." He moved the pile of goods that had accumulated beside Harry so he could sit beside him and get a better look.

Harry flipped through all of the detention slips in his dad's file. There were a lot of them. And there was something else there that was shoved in between the slips that he pulled out and the men on either side of him drew in sharp breaths.

"Oh." Remus sucked in a breath.

"Oh my lord." Sirius said slowly. "The Marauders Map! I never thought I'd see that again!"

"What is it?" Harry asked, holding onto it with both hands as though it might disintegrate.

"It's a map we made of Hogwarts! It's got all the passwords to the secret entrances and tells you where people are as well." Remus said in awe.

"I didn't know Filch had stuck it in there!" Sirius said. "He confiscated it from James in our last few months. We'd already memorized everything so we didn't fight to get it back." Sirius pulled out his wand and tapped the parchment. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." And ink began to spider out all across the pages.

"This is." Harry started unfolding the paper. The map. "This is all of Hogwarts?" His eyes raked over every exposed corridor and landed on a little trail of footsteps. "That's professor Snape? Right now, that's where he is?"

"Yep." Sirius said happily.

Harry's eyes went from the parchment to the rest of the folder sitting in his lap. This was one of the most amazing gifts he'd ever received.

()()()

The three men arrived at the Burrow just after 1pm Christmas day. The sitting room was completely cluttered with empty boxes and bundles of paper that were no doubt bound for the fireplace. The twins and who Harry assumed was Percy, one of the brothers he hadn't met yet, were in the room and a raised a glass in greeting, not bothered to do much more than that, and from the slightly glassy looks in their eyes he could tell why they weren't bothered.

Harry's eyes raked across the room and into what he could see of the kitchen in search of Ginny.

Mrs. Weasley came into the room wiping her hands on her apron. "Hello dears." She beamed. They all gave her a greeting and Harry saw a movement of long red hair in the kitchen behind her. Mrs. Weasley gave him a knowing look and gestured her head kindly saying he was allowed to go in and greet her daughter.

Ginny mustn't have realized that they'd arrived. She'd been helping get ready for the dinner for that night and had her own apron on and smears of flour on her cheek. She looked amazing. Currently she was kneading something in a bowl and glanced over to him freezing in surprise.

She looked so perfect to him in every way, and what she'd given him for Christmas he had no words. She pulled her hands out of the bowl and hastily tried to wipe the dough off, but he didn't care about that.

Harry closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms tightly around her kissing her hard on the mouth. He heard her give a wistful sigh and felt her forearms come against his back while she returned his kiss, keeping her dough covered hands off his cloak.

"Mmm. Pantry." She moaned and walked him backwards.

"That's a new pet name." He teased and kissed his way down her neck.

"Walk towards the pantry so that my family won't see us." She growled and continued pushing him to move backwards.

He traced circles on her hips with his thumbs. "Can't we go back out to the orchard?"

Ginny giggled lightly. "Geez, give a guy just a little taste."

Harry pulled back from her in a slight panic. "That's not what I. I mean. I do, but I just." Harry sighed. He didn't want her to think that all he wanted to do now was have sex. He did, don't get him wrong, but he was desperate to show her just how much she meant to him. "Ginny. Your gift."

"The coat is beautiful." She smiled up at him, her whole face alight. "I love it."

"Yeah?" He asked hopefully.

"Absolutely." She promised. "You spent too much." She reprimanded slightly. "But it is beautiful."

"Great. I'm so glad you like it. You are a rather hard person to find a gift for." He told her. "Sirius agrees. I had to outsource to figure something out for you that wasn't something I'd just get for a friend. Because you are so much more than a friend."

She glowed at the comment. "As are you. It took me a while to figure out yours."

Harry nearly wanted to cry at how truly touched he was with her gift for him. "Ginny. I can't even. It's so. You're amazing and I love you."

"Awe." Came a moony sigh from the kitchen entrance. "You two." It was Mrs. Weasley and she looked about ready to gush.

With the moment lost Harry and Ginny pulled back from each other blushing at the fact they were being observed. "Mum." Ginny complained.

"Alright. Ginny, you have more work to do. Harry, why don't you go up and say hello to Ron." She broke them apart.

Ginny gave Harry another chaste kiss and dunked her hands back into the bowl.

()()()

By dinner time Harry had only managed to steal a few kisses from Ginny. They'd all played Quidditch and had several rounds of appetizers and beverages. Harry met the rest of the Weasley boys, including little Kenneth who was pretty adorable with his auntie. He clearly enjoyed being the youngest.

Kenneth had been a little weary of Sirius and Remus at first. They were fully grown men, Harry he didn't seem to have an issue with but did make 'yuck' noises when Ginny gave Harry a kiss. The boy came around to Sirius though when he changed into his dog form however. Then he was Kenneth's new favorite person.

The company was great, the food was delicious and it was easily the best day Harry could remember having.

They were all a good amount of tipsy by the time they had to head back to Grimmauld Place.

None of them had expected to walk into a MMA elf edition show down in the sitting room. Dobby and Kreachure were kicking, scratching and hitting each other and they tumbled all over the room with something shiny swinging between them


	11. All the feels

Once they managed to get the elves settled down and Sirius had taken the locket from between them and placed it on the coffee table he had them explain themselves.

Dobby told his master everything straightforward. He had cleaned the rest of the house, the only place left was Kreacher's cupboard. Kreacher had been off wandering morosely around the house somewhere and had come back just as Dobby was holding the locket, sensing its importance and intending to give it to his Master Sirius. That's when Kreacher and he started grappling around over it. Dobby had apparated away from him to the sitting room, but Kreacher followed and then the three men returned.

Kreacher had taken a while to even begin explaining his actions. He kept rocking back and forth, pulling on his ears and shaking his head. Eventually he started talking about 'his master', but he didn't mean Sirius. He meant his previous master. Regulus, to whom the locket belonged according to Kreacher. It took the greater part of an hour to get the full story, and it was a fantastical story. Voldemort had used Kreacher to hide this locket in a seaside cave, near on impossible to reach by Muggle methods even to get to just the mouth of the cave. And impossible for any but a magical person to go any further. Kreacher had been given to Voldemort to assist with hiding the locket, and Voldemort had anticipated that the House Elf would be trapped there forever, for he did not understand House Elf magic.

"That was how my master. My poor master Regulus." Kreacher rocked harder and harder with enormous tears escaping his eyes.

Sirius, Remus and Harry had all been shocked silent by his story, but Sirius managed to find his voice. "Voldemort killed Regulus because he found out you survived?" He asked quietly. If Harry had to guess, it looked like Sirius was grieving over this information. He hadn't spoken to Harry at all of his brother, just of his parents and how they disapproved of his distaste regarding the Dark Arts and the views of Voldemort.

Kreacher shook his head more aggressively. "No, no, no, no, no. The Dark Lord did not know. He did not know my master did not trust him. He did not know how great my master was. How much he would sacrifice. Oh!" He cried harder. "Oh, my poor master!"

"Regulus was not a loyal follower?" Sirius asked, sounding short of breath. Kreacher didn't answer, he seemed to be regressing in on himself. "Kreacher. I order you to tell me what happened."

Kreacher gasped in a big breath. "Master ordered Kreacher to take him to the cave. He ordered Kreacher to feed him the evil potion. He ordered Kreacher to replace the Dark Lords locket with a fake. He ordered." Sob. "He ordered Kreacher to." Sob. "to leave him there."

Harry felt chills running through him. This elf had been horrible to everyone, and he hadn't understood why the elf had worshiped his previous masters when they were such horrible people. But the little being was truly devastated about being forced to sacrifice his masters life. According to what Harry had learned about House Elves, they had no choice when it came to an order from their master.

Harry actually felt really bad for the little guy.

"Regulus risked his life to get this locket?" Sirius asked staring at the ornamental crest on the front of it. "What is it?"

Kreacher stopped crying, he stopped rocking, he stopped twisting his ears. He just looked at the locket with pure unadulterated loathing and shook in anger. "Evil."

Sirius, Remus and Harry exchanged startled looks. Harry felt a little nervous at how these two grown men seemed to be at a loss. They had been through the last war and had surely seen a few horrible things in their time, but they too were a little frightened of this elf's claim that the locket was evil.

Dobby was the one to break the silence in the room. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named gave pieces of his evil to his most loyal of followers."

All attention shifted to Dobby, who had been patiently listening to Kreacher's tale. He had been basically ignored by the men since he finished his story, but now that they were all looking at him Harry could see that he was sitting entirely too rigidly.

"What was that?" Remus asked with wide eyes. "Voldemort gave pieces of evil to his followers? What pieces of evil? Are they all lockets?"

Dobby hesitated, then it looked like it was his turn to try mutilating his ears by twisting them. His head lolled a bit as though he was struggling with thoughts that were literally bouncing around in his head.

"Dobby." Sirius said sternly. "I am your master and I command you to tell me."

That made the elf visibly relax a bit. "My previous master was given a piece of evil. It was a Diary from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. It was evil. Pure darkness. Evil. Evil. Bad Dobby." He hit himself.

"Dobby!" Sirius warned. "You are not allowed to hurt yourself. I forbid it." Dobby lowered his hands and gripped the side of the couch. "Now then. I command you to tell me who your previous master was."

Dobby shivered and croaked something that they couldn't quite make out then started humming.

"The Malfoy's." Kreacher translated.

Remus looked sharply over at Sirius. "You. You didn't know?" Remus asked him with wide eyes.

"I had no idea." Sirius answered dumbfounded.

Harry felt like his blood was draining out of his face. Dobby had been owned by Death Eaters, Kreacher had been owned by Death Eaters. From what he'd read it was predominantly the old wizarding families that had fallen into that category. And it was the pureblood families that would own House Elves, so it did make sense but it was still a shock.

"If he went through so much trouble to hide this locket, then it must be something truly dark." Remus got a little closer to the locket to look closer. "Those are rune's around the outside of it."

"Kreacher was supposed to destroy it, but Kreacher could not." He told them. "Not fire, not brute force, not even my magic. Nothing is working to destroy the evil."

"What is it though?" Harry wondered aloud. "You keep saying that it is evil, but it's an object. How is that evil?"

"It is inside it." Dobby said importantly. "The evil is inside. It is keeping it for him. For when he returns."

"When?" Remus and Sirius asked at the same time.

"What do you mean WHEN?" Sirius asked. "He died fifteen years ago. He's dead, gone."

Dobby shook his head. "It is a dark magic master."

"A very dark magic." Kreacher agreed.

Harry sat back, not knowing what exactly was going on. The man that killed his parents had supposedly died that night, but not really? How could he be dead and have disappeared for fifteen years, but not be dead? "What. What should we do?" Harry asked.

"_You_ don't have to do anything." Sirius told him. "We will talk to Dumbledore about this." He indicated to Remus and himself.

"Master will destroy the locket?" Kreacher asked hopefully.

"After we figure out exactly what it is. Yes. We will destroy it." He promised.

"I can go back to the school and see if Dumbledore is there." Remus offered.

"You could check my map first!" Harry offered, happy to be able to contribute to this situation in some way. He got up and went over to the folder on the side table with the rest of his Christmas presents that hadn't been taken upstairs yet and pulled out the Marauders Map. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." He tapped the map and felt a little thrill when the ink spidered out over the pages.

Remus and Sirius came over to look over his shoulder and Remus folded the map out to show the Headmasters office. "There he is." Remus pointed. "Alright. I'm going to go and grab him and bring him back here." He promptly left through the green flames of the Floo with out another thought.

Harry and Sirius stood there at the hutch watching as Remus' name appeared in front of the fireplace in his personal quarters.

"Master is sure that the half beast is trustworthy." Kreacher asked.

Sirius took in a sharp breath and rounded on the older House Elf with an angry look. "Do not ever refer to him as that again."

"Half beast?" Harry asked confused. "Why would he call Remus that?"

Sirius looked at Harry, his eyes full of conflicting emotion. "Sorry Harry. You'll have to ask Remus that yourself." His shoulders sagged and he went over to the liquor cabinet. "I'd offer you one, but with your headmaster about to come over and my trying to get proper custody papers in line I don't think it'd be a very good idea."

Harry's jaw dropped at that. "Custody papers?" He whispered.

Sirius turned back from the cabinet, mid pour, and gave him a bewildered look. "You didn't think I'd let you go back to the Dursley's did you? We talked about this. I wanted you to come live here with me next summer, and that's before you're of age, so I'll need the legal right to do that."

They had talked about it, and written about it, but Harry hadn't thought of it like Sirius would be his proper legal guardian. He'd thought of it like he wouldn't have to go back to the Dursley's ever again. "I just hadn't thought about whether there was legal stuff that had to be done to make that happen." What if it was too much of a hassle? He wondered. "I mean. It is only just over a month I'd have to stay with them, so if there's too much red tape or whatever-"

"Let me stop you right there." Sirius cut him off. "I don't care what I have to do. You aren't going back to the Dursley's, you're living here with me. Where you belong."

Harry's face heated up at that and he worked really hard to school his expression so that Sirius didn't see just how much he longed for someone to have said he belonged with them. Sirius had told him that he regretted his actions that landed him in Azkaban and Harry knew he had suffered enough for that. Guilt for how Harry had been raised did not need to be added to that.

"Harry?" Sirius said his name softly. He must have seen something in Harry's expression because he set his drink down and came towards Harry pulling him into a hug.

His arms around him in the most paternal manner he'd ever been held was too much. Tears pooled in his eyes and slid down his face. This was twice now he'd lost it when Sirius embraced him, but it felt so comforting and cathartic to be hugged by him while he was so emotional.

"I've half a mind to go over to Privet Drive and give those bastards a piece of my mind." Sirius told him and hugged him tighter. "But my getting thrown back in Azkaban for attacking Muggles wouldn't help this situation at all."

Harry sniffled a laugh. "No. But I could always have them thrown out of the house. Maybe just sign the deed off to an immigrant family. That'd get Uncle Vernon really chuffed."

"Geez, does that lazy tub of lard like anybody?"

Harry chuckled. "No. Not really. Apparently he is perfect though."

Sirius made the movement of one suppressing vomit. "Urgh. Don't think he'll be gracing any magazine covers ever."

Harry pulled back and wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand. "Thanks Sirius. Really. For everything."

Sirius sighed. "You got dealt a shit hand Pup. We'll just have to make sure it's all the better from here on out, yeah?"

Harry's brow furrowed at how Sirius called him 'Pup'. It had happened a few times now.

The flames burst to life again and Remus and Dumbledore stepped out. Dumbledore didn't even greet them, his eyes wandered desperately around the surfaces of the room and then he went straight to the coffee table and examined the locket.

"Which of you tried to destroy this?" He asked the House Elves.

Neither of them spoke, they simply looked to Sirius. Harry actually had a moment of startle realizing that they were still in the room, and had in fact not moved from the couch this entire time. They were just so still and quiet, and had front row seats to his moment of weakness. He wondered if it was part of the House Elf magic to only have humans be aware of their presence when they were required to.

"Kreacher, Dobby. You are to answer Dumbledore's questions with complete honesty. I command it." Sirius ordered.

"Kreacher has tried to destroy the locket for many years.-" Kreacher told the Headmaster. Dumbledore received the whole story from the Elf all over again and asked for the coordinates of the hidden cave, as well as many other questions that led Harry to believe that he'd been waiting for something like this to happen for years.

"And you, Dobby." Dumbledore asked the other House Elf. "You worked for the Malfoys and they too received an evil object from Voldemort."

"Yes sir, mister Dumbledore sir." Dobby rocked back and forth. "A Diary sir."

"And do they still have this Diary? Are there any enchantments around it?"

"The old master tried to get rid of it years ago. But he could not. So he hides it." Dobby whispered the last part.

"Where?" Sirius asked him. "Where did he hide it?"

Dobby's head leaned to the left and he fought against revealing the secret until Kreacher clocked him over the head.

"Kreacher!" Sirius protested.

"Dobby needs punishment for not answering our master right away." Kreacher stated without remorse.

"Dobby does needs it sir. Bad Dobby." He told himself. "My old master hides it in his wife's vault. At Gringotts."

Sirius rushed forward. "His wife's vault? His wife's vault under the Black name?" He pressed desperately.

Dobby nodded so hard that his ears were flapping.

"Aha!" Sirius sat back in his chair, looking a little victorious. "And a Merry Christmas to me! I transferred everything from that vault into mine." He explained his jubilation proudly.

"So you are in possession of this Diary then. Sirius." Dumbledore implored. "I think I know what these items are, but would you allow me to verify that and destroy them?"

"What are they?" Remus asked.

Dumbledore sighed and looked back behind him, where Harry was standing. Clearly he thought Harry was too young to hear anything about the dark magic that had been used on these items. "Perhaps-"

"Harry's nearly of age. And knowing the truth is always better than speculation." Sirius stopped Dumbledore from sending Harry out of the room.

Dumbledore looked to be grappling with himself over whether it was a good idea to include Harry in this or not. "I believe that he split his soul into fragments, hiding them away to make it so he could not be killed until each piece was destroyed."

"What?!" The two other grown men asked.

Harry didn't understand though. How would one split their soul. How could a soul be split and then locked away in a locket? Or a diary. A diary doesn't even have a compartment. It's just pages.

"Do you have anything that could prove your theory correct?" Remus asked. "Aside from the locket here."

Harry came around to sit on the ground with his back against Sirius' armchair. If there were many more of these bombshells about to go off, he really needed more holding him up than his legs.

After a few moments of hesitancy over the answer to that question, it looked like someone would have to smack the Headmaster over the head to get an answer out of him as well. Sirius' method of getting him a glass of whiskey seemed to be the equivalent.

"Our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor a few years ago was partially possessed by him." Dumbledore admitted.

That bombshell would have for sure had Harry falling on his arse. "Which one was that?" He asked. Maybe it was Gildroy Lockhart. That would have explained why he was such a tosser.

"Quirinus Quirrell."

"What?!" Harry gasped. "Professor Quirrell was possessed by Voldemort?" He had been odd, sure. And that turban was completely ridiculous. Although, if he was fighting against a possession or something then the nervous twitches and such made a lot more sense.

"He was not possessed per se. He was actually playing partial host to what is left of his soul."

"Partial. Host?" Remus asked, looking like he was going to be sick.

"I didn't discover it until the end of the year. When he made an attempt to go after the Philosophers stone."

"What happened to him?" Sirius asked.

"Quirinus did not survive Voldemort leaving his body." Dumbledore said sounding regretful.

"Did he not survive, or did you not let him survive?" Sirius asked seriously.

With another weary glance at Harry, Dumbledore didn't need to answer that question for the occupants of the room to know which happened.

Harry was not as shocked as he felt he probably should be. Dumbledore was known to be a great wizard, and his first DADA professor had been playing a willing host to one of the most evil men he'd ever heard of. It was like it wasn't even real in his head. Professor Quirrell was killed by Dumbledore, and Peter Pettigrew had been killed by Sirius. It seemed like they were an 'eye for an eye' situations. Those two men had made terrible choices and had finally met their end because of it. What would have happened if Voldemort got the Philosophers stone and rose to power again? How many lives would have been lost then? It wasn't even a necessary evil in his opinion, it was just necessary.

"So, how many of these." Harry pointed over to the locket. "How many do you think he made then? Just two?"

"Doubt it." Sirius said behind him. "Bet old Voldy would have wanted to make at least three of them. Hit a powerful number."

Harry looked back at his godfather at that. What constituted a 'powerful number'?

Remus answered his unasked question. "Either three or seven are the more powerful numbers. That's something you would have learned in Arithmancy." He gave Harry a scolding look that was very out of sync with the atmosphere of the room and made them both chuckle slightly. He had dropped many hints for Harry to switch from Divination to Arithmancy in his third year and it had fallen on deaf ears.

"Perhaps for now I could take this locket into a secure space in the house and cast a few spells on it to see if it is in fact what I believe it to be?" Dumbledore asked Sirius.

Sirius observed him a moment, then looked over at Kreacher who was staring between Dumbledore and the locket with wide eyes. "Yes. But I and Kreacher will go with you."

Dumbledore's eyebrows went up at that request, looking over to Kreacher before turning back to Sirius. "May I ask why?"

"He's suffered enough for this locket and spent years trying to destroy it. I think he's earned the right to see what becomes of it." It was an olive branch that Sirius was extending.

"Thank you master." Kreacher croaked and stood.

"Dobby too?" Dobby asked.

Sirius nodded and stood, showing Dumbledore and the House Elves out of the room.

Harry got up to occupy the chair Sirius had just abandoned as he and Dumbledore went with Kreacher to the dining room at the other side of the main floor. Dobby was tentatively getting up to follow them, but Remus stayed in his seat.

"So. The guy that I supposedly killed isn't actually dead." Harry surmised, still quite lost with the information he'd just been provided.

Remus stared at Harry, and he could see the gears turning in his professors head, trying to figure out how to make all of the different reactions and words in his head come out in some comforting and understandable speech.

"If you could just say the first thing that comes to your mind instead of internally editing, I'd appreciate it." Harry told him wryly.

Remus sighed and took another sip of his drink before setting it down and clasping his hands together, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "From what I've just heard, that is basically what he's thinking. There are some truly horrific types of Dark Magic. There are a few different methods that Voldemort could have used to try to become immortal. If that locket is what I think it is, from what Kreacher said, then he can't actually die until all the pieces of his soul are found and 'killed' as well."

Harry nodded. That was essentially what he'd taken from what Dumbledore had said. "So if he isn't dead, then..."

"He is most likely hiding out and attempting to get his body back."

Harry thought over what that meant. He imagined an impression of a person, like when you took a crayon pencil and just sort of scribbled out the general shape of a man with empty lines in between the colored spaces. "So... he would be a ghost or something right now?"

"Erm. More likely a wraith." He went on at Harry's puzzled expression. "A wraith is a disembodied soul. He would be able to possess small animals, but when he isn't he would be like a spirit. If you were to stumble upon one, they are sort of like and insubstantial presence. A ghost can't be brought back to life, but a wraith can."

"So that's why he could share a body with Quirrell." He was still having trouble grasping it. It was like every time he thought he had a grasp of this world he was born into, but denied access to for his formative years, all the rules just jump up and change on him.

"Yes."

"So then couldn't he just be anywhere? Possessing anyone right now?"

"It would be fairly obvious if he were. If he were sharing a body with you, then your body would show some of himself. With what I've heard of Quirrell it seems he was actually growing out of the back of his head."

"Yeah, and no one noticed." Harry pointed out. The image of a science fiction movie Dudley had been watching a few summers ago popped into his head. It had been well beyond suitable for someone their age to watch, but in it there was a man sharing a body with someone, and he was visible through the mans belly. Harry shuddered and felt the urge to vomit at that recollection.

"Harry. Let's not let our imaginations go wild right now, okay? Voldemort hasn't been seen for five years if what Dumbledore said was true, and fifteen years if it wasn't. Just." He hesitated. "Why don't we just wait and see what they say when they come back?" He looked over at the door to the hallway. They had heard the door to the dining room close and it still hadn't opened again. "This could take a while." He took another drink from his glass.

Harry nodded, but found it hard to do as asked. The man that killed his parents was still out there somewhere. And he was a monster.

"Why would Kreacher call you a 'half-beast'?" Harry asked, recalling suddenly what the House Elf said while Remus was getting Dumbledore.

Remus froze with his glass on the way back to his lips. He brought his glass back down to the arm of his chair slowly. "I." He sighed. "When I was a child, there was a man named Greyback that held a grudge against my father. This man wanted revenge on him for something he said. The way that he took that revenge was by." Remus shook slightly. He was talking rather slowly, the story was clearly really hard for him to tell. "One night he came into our house in the dead of the night and... bit me."

"Bit you?" Harry asked. He sat up straighter. "Did you say Greyback?" In the copies of the Daily Prophet there had been stories of Greyback's victims. The one's that had died and the one's that had- "You're a Werewolf?! How did I not realize this years ago?" He thought back over all the information he knew about Werewolves, and tried to come up with any hints that he'd missed that would have led him to realize sooner that his favorite Professor was one of the creatures he had to teach his students about.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Remus hung his head. "It's been nearly thirty years now that I've been infected."

"So.. on a full moon, you turn into a werewolf." Harry said dumbly.

"Yes. But I'm not a danger to anybody." He assured him. "I take Wolfsbane potion diligently leading up to the full moon. That makes it so that I just sort of curl up into a ball in my suite and sleep through it."

"Oh. I'm not, I'm not worried or anything. It's just." Harry let out a laugh. "Really it's just adding to the list of things I didn't know until the past few months." He shrugged.

Remus relaxed. "You're not scared or anything?"

"Why would I be scared of you?" Harry asked incredulously. "I've been around you for three and a half years and you've been great."

Remus grinned and shook his head. "You are so like your parents."

"Really?" Harry asked eagerly.

"You know, that's why your dad and Sirius became Animagi." He told him. "And Peter." He added begrudgingly.

"My dad could turn into an animal? What was he?" Harry felt his own face light up in excitement. He could never get enough information about his parents.

"A stag." Remus told him emotionally. "They realized what I was and instead of shunning me." Tears welled up in his eyes. "They wanted to become Animagi so they could be with me and make it easier. Your dad and Sirius were amazing."

Harry's excitement died down a touch as he empathized with where Remus was coming from on some level. When he got to Hogwarts he was excited to learn about this new world, but he'd never had friends before. So when Neville and Hermione came along and befriended him right away, stood up to Malfoy and other bullies for him and alongside him, it was just the best feeling.

"What about my mum? When did she find out?"

Remus chuckled and sniffled a bit, still trying not to let his emotions get the better of him. "She said she found out some time around our fourth year, but never said anything about it. I only found out she knew when she was Head Girl. I was a Prefect see, and I was hanging out with her and your dad, who was Head Boy. Lily was making up the schedule for the prefects for rounds. I still remember the feeling I had when I noticed she had put my name down to do rounds the night before a full moon. I wouldn't have been in the best shape for that. But before I could say anything, come up with an excuse, she made this... noise. Like she was frustrated she'd mixed something up, then she switched my name with someone else so I would be scheduled a few days after the full moon instead. I gave a look to James, but he seemed just as surprised as I was." Remus' chin warbled slightly. "I asked her why she did that and she gave me this knowing and loving smile and just said she thought I might be 'under the weather' that night."

"She sounds like she was a great friend." Harry felt himself choking up a bit too. This was an emotional Christmas.

"She was the best." He smiled warmly. "I was so." He sucked in a breath and had to steady himself. "So devastated." Tears started rolling down his cheeks and he put head in his hand.

Harry felt the fluttering in his chest of restraining the impulse to tuck his knees to his chest and begin crying again. "When they." He couldn't get the words out.

After a moment Remus pulled his head up and took a deep breath. "I really want to be able to get this out. Because I've wanted to explain myself to you ever since that night." he took a few more breaths. "Harry. My entire world imploded that night you lost your parents. James and Lily were my family, I loved them so much. And you. And then Sirius was shipped off to Azkaban for supposedly murdering another who I held near and dear to me. On top of. I just. I completely fell apart." His knee started jostling. "The whole of the magical world was out celebrating and I was a complete mess. Everyone I held close was gone. I was lost and betrayed and just an empty shell."

Harry had tears rolling down his cheeks and did nothing to staunch the flow.

"If I'd been stronger. I. I could have been there for you. I couldn't have raised you, the ministry wouldn't have allowed it. I thought you'd be taken care of though. I had no idea."

It had to have been Ginny's influence on him. Physical contact was not something he ever would have initiated before she came into his life, but here he was standing up and pulling Remus up from his chair for a fierce hug.

They were all orphans, Harry realized. He, Remus and Sirius were all with-out parents or any direct bloodline.

He had only his aunt, but already he considered Mrs. Weasley more of a parental family figure than his Aunt, and he'd only met Mrs. Weasley three times. She'd knitted him an entire jumper for Christmas! That was just so sweet of her. Meanwhile he hadn't heard from his blood relative since August 31st and even then she'd avoided eye contact with him.

The both of them heard the door open down the corridor and pulled back from the hug giving each other somewhat shy smiles before wiping their eyes and attempting to look nonchalant while they waited for the others to come back in.

"Looks like we're going to Gringotts first thing in the morning." Sirius announced and picked up his tumbler from the coffee table, taking it over to the liquor cabinet for a refill.

"If you wouldn't mind." Dumbledore summoned his own and handed it over for a refill of his own. He looked over to Harry. "Also, if _you_ wouldn't mind, I'd rather you not tell any of your peers that you witnessed your Headmaster enjoying too much whiskey over the holidays."

Harry gave a confirmation in the form of some kind of flustered shoulder waggle and head nod. He was trying to switch gears and reign in his emotions still. Doing that whilst trying not to look like you were doing that was making him move about rather like a marionette.

"So that was a piece of his soul then." Remus asked. He looked like he'd regained his senses. He'd also had several more years of practice composing himself than Harry.

"It was. Unfortunately I was not able to destroy it yet." Dumbledore took a seat on the couch.

The House Elves did not come back into the room with them, Harry realized, but didn't think on it too much.

"We might need to find a Parselmouth to get it open." Sirius said regretfully to Remus and sat back in his armchair.

Remus let out disbelieving noise. "That's the only way you think you can get it open?"

"Due to the inscription on the locket it is looking like that is the case. I am not one hundred percent sure, but I believe it was Slytherin's locket and it is what he was known for." Dumbledore explained.

"Err. What's a Parselmouth?" Harry asked.

"Someone who can talk to snakes." Sirius said depressingly.

"Oh! I can do that." Harry perked up. Then had a moment of regret as the three of them turned to stare at him in shock. "Uh. Is. Is it not common?"

"No." Sirius said slowly. "How... since when? When did you find out you could talk to snakes?"

His hand went to the hair at the nape of his neck and he blushed slightly. "I, um. I may have accidentally set a Boa Constrictor on my cousin Dudley when I was ten. We were at the Zoo." He added quickly. "Dudley was being a pain, and I was apologizing to the snake, and he just sort of, understood me, and then I did some accidental magic and made the glass disappear." He gave a nervous chuckle.

"And the snake spoke to you too?" Remus asked slowly.

"Uh. Yeah. He said '_thanks_'" Harry told them.

"What?" Sirius asked. "What does that mean?"

"Huh?" Harry was confused by the question. "What do you mean? Thanks means thanks. He was happy I freed him."

The three of them exchanged a look. "Harry." Dumbledore started. "The first time you told us what the snake said, you told us in Parseltongue. We didn't understand it."

Harry stared at him stupidly. "I spoke Parseltongue, and I didn't even realize it?" He mentally added that to his growing list of previously unknown facts about himself. Can speak different languages with-out hearing the difference.

"Well." Sirius raised a glass in his direction. "Guess that solves that problem. Cheers, Harry." Whether he was downplaying this new information Harry couldn't tell.

Remus turned to him. "You" He shook his head once more and sighed. "You were saying something about going to Gringotts tomorrow?"

"Yes. I'm going to look for that diary with Dobby's help. And I was thinking. My nutter cousin Bellatrix was pretty high up the ladder with that psychopath. There's a chance that there's something else down there too, and I was hoping you would come with me and the elves to search tomorrow."

"Me too?" Harry asked, wanting to be of more assistance than just unknowingly hissing a few words.

"Sorry Pup. If we could put this off until August, then yes. However you are not an adult, nor a Black. You get to sleep in tomorrow though, how lucky are you!" Sirius teased.

()()()

It was the morning after Christmas and Ginny didn't know whether she should be bringing her new coat with her, or if her Weasley jumper from last year would be enough. She had the Weasley jumper that she'd received yesterday, but she had a little bit of growing to do before that one fit her in a flattering way.

She was going over to Sirius' place to spend some time with he and Harry, and she was really curious to see what kind of place Sirius lived in. Just how horrible was this house that he couldn't bear going back to that made him feel that he had to stay at the Burrow. Was it the house that was so horrible, or was it the company that he was craving?

Her brothers had taken some working over by Sirius yesterday. Her parents were completely comfortable with him in human form, but everyone else was slightly tip-toeing around him. With the exception of Ron, who didn't really seem to care, and her, who was constantly trying to make him slightly uncomfortable himself. She'd found the dog bed and wedged it in between the armchairs for him as an offering of a place to sit.

He'd taken her up on it as well. That was how he'd won around the twin's favor.

Bill and Charlie had been completely too adult about the whole situation. They'd shaken his hand and offered their condolences for the whole situation. Percy hadn't interacted with Sirius much at all, and looked to have purposefully situated himself as far away from Sirius as possible the whole day.

All it took for Kenneth was having the dog back for a bit. Sirius transformed and the kid was all over him. The little betrayer.

Everyone was super nice to Harry though, and she was so glad he had been there. Seeing the joy in his eyes through out the whole afternoon and into the evening really made her Christmas.

Now Ginny was hoping she'd be able to get some alone time with Harry. Some real alone time.

Her hopes weren't high on that one as it would be her first visit over there, and Sirius wouldn't want to come off as an irresponsible supervisor of sorts. Plus, Professor Lupin was staying there too right now.

She decided to pull on last years Weasley jumper and pull on her coat over top of that, just in case her mum had some problem with her wearing her tighter jumper for some reason.

When she and Harry had come back after she'd 'shown him around' the property the day they'd arrived from Hogwarts she'd seen the look that her mum gave her. Obviously she'd take the opportunity to snog her boyfriend at the very least and she would completely fess up to that, but there couldn't possibly be a way her mum would be able to tell she'd just lost her virginity in the orchard.

It had hurt a bit, and but by the time Harry had finished it was starting to feel really good. She'd been reliving it over and over in her head, particularly at night when she was alone in bed and really wanted to try that again.

It hadn't been how she'd envisioned it happening, but it had been feeling more like a hurdle to jump over than an all-important moment that required everything to be perfect. With how much it hurt and how quickly Harry had finished, would it have wound up being perfect? Even if they found somewhere to be together all night and uninterrupted with a hundred lit candles and all that other cheesy stuff that romance books make you think you need, it still would have had the same end result.

Perhaps a mattress would have been nice though. Even with their coats tucked underneath her bum, her tailbone had been a little tender for a few days after.

Either way, she loved Harry. She was happy that they'd finally been together in that way and was eagerly looking forward to trying that again.

"Mum." She called out into the kitchen when she got down to the main landing. "I told Harry and Sirius I'd pop in around now. Alright if I head over?"

Her mum had been in the kitchen, as always, preparing preserves. "Yes dear. Here, take some of these left overs for them will you?" She handed her a container of food from the dinner last night that Sirius had told her wasn't necessary.

Ginny grinned and accepted what would probably turn out to be her lunch. "Thanks. Did Ron come downstairs yet?" Her brother had been in alright spirits yesterday, but he was a little depressed all around still about the prospect of loosing Hermione. It was hard to watch, but not really something she could offer him assistance with. She'd told him as much as she could about it from the female perspective and now it was up to him to deal with the situation.

Her mum frowned. "No. He's still up there moping about."

"Well, if you see him, maybe suggest he send an Owl over to Neville?" Ginny offered. "He could probably do with some guy time. And Neville knows Hermione really well."

That actually caused her mum to smirk at her a bit and give a knowing look. "Don't want him interrupting you and Harry then?"

Ginny shrugged. "No. I don't." She said honestly. "He's being a grump, and I want to have a nice time at Sirius'."

Her mum nodded her head, understanding. "Alright. That's a decent suggestion, now go on. And I want you home before 6 alright?"

"Alright." She went over and gave her mum a kiss on the cheek and headed to the fireplace.

Her landing in Sirius' sitting room was remarkably graceful! Sure she'd traveled by Floo at least a hundred times in her life, but a graceful landing was something that only happened once and a while.

Too bad there was no one to see it.

The sitting room of Grimmauld Place looked fairly posh under all of the Christmas decorations that looked rather hastily and clumsily strung up everywhere. She had to chuckle at the sight of the Christmas Tree. It looked like the boys had gotten bored with stringing up the tinsel and just threw clumps of it at the branches and hoped for the best.

There were unwrapped piles of sweets still under the tree, including the biscuits she'd given to Sirius in the shape of dog bones, and the James Potter file was open on a side table. It looked like Harry was making his way through all of the detention slips.

She'd had to sneak Harry's invisibility cloak to pull that off, and convince a few of the younger students to cause a ruckus on one of the higher floors to drag Filch and his cat far away from his office. It helped knowing that Filch wasn't all that adept at magic. Fred and George had taught her how to use a Muggle lock picking set and a few spells that worked along the lines of an advanced 'Alohamora' so she could be prepared for whatever it took to get into the caretakers files.

She had looked for one on Lily Evans too, but there really wasn't much, and what there had been had involved James Potter as well, so stealing only James Potter's file would make it less obvious that it would be in Harry's possession. She probably should have duplicated the file and replaced it, but unfortunately she didn't know how to do that magic.

The reaction she'd received from Harry was exactly what she'd hoped for. Excitement, amazement and he'd been completely touched by the thought behind it.

The present she'd received from him had been a little over the top though. It was really nice and she appreciated it, and it wasn't like she had something else she'd been hoping he'd get her, but still. He really didn't need to have spent so much money on her.

"Hello?" Ginny called out. She couldn't hear anyone moving about in the house. There was a chance they were all still sleeping. Who knew what those boys got up to when they got home. There were three unwashed tumblers on the coffee table, there was a chance they were all sleeping off the liquor.

Didn't Sirius currently have two House Elves? Why hadn't they tidied up after them?

Ginny shed her coat and put it on the nearest armchair and went into the hallway. She was on the main landing it seemed. There was a door directly across from her, and stairs leading up to the next level. It would be rude to go snooping, but she did still owe Sirius some payback, so how much did she really care about being slightly rude?

Opening the door across from the sitting room she found herself in the kitchen. No one was in there either, but she put the container of food her mum had given her in the ice box and peered into the closet type space that looked like one of the House Elves had made a bedroom out of. Probably Kreacher considering the state of it. She'd read some of what Sirius had owled to Harry and he'd mentioned the behavior of the old family House Elf.

Going back to the hallway she walked past the stairs and opened the door at the end of the corridor. It was a rather large dining area that looked quite clean but was horribly decorated and dark. There was a window and a door at the far end of it that looked into a small backyard area that was completely overgrown with weeds. She could see them poking up through the foot or so of undisturbed snow.

Back in the entrance-way she called up from the foot of the stairs again, and again received no response. There was a chance that there were silencing spells around each of the bedrooms. It was an old family house so there could be all kinds of spells and wards all over the different rooms and the whole house in general.

She slowly began climbing the stairs and took a look at each of the portraits on the way up. Sirius' relatives did not look like they approved of her. That, or their faces were simply permanently holding the expression of having just sucked on a lemon. He should probably take them down and replace them with something pleasant to look at.

On the second floor there were four doors. One to her right, two on her left and one at the back behind the stairs that lead up to the next floor.

The door to her right was closest so she knocked on it and received no response. The handle turned with out protest and she pushed the door open. It was a library. Dark wood bookshelves, dark red velvet curtains over the window and two uncomfortable looking armchairs, they had wooden arms on them and stiff upright backing.

She closed the door and went to the opposite side of the hallway and knocked again on the first door.

Again, no answer. So she opened that door too and it was a four piece bathroom. It had some toiletries in it scattered on the counter. At least that meant someone occupied this floor.

Ginny knocked on the next door before opening it. This one was a bedroom. And an occupied bedroom at that.

Harry was alone and asleep in the bed.

She grinned wickedly at that.

It was a large room he had all to himself. At least four times the size of her own bedroom, and had a dark four poster king sized bed that he was currently sleeping in.

She closed the door as quietly as possible and locked it before pulling off her jumper and her shoes and jeans so she was only in her t-shirt and knickers then walked over to stand by his bedside. It looked like he was sleeping topless. She got a thrill running through her over that.

Delicately she pulled up the covers on her side and slipped into the bed, shifting over until she was right up beside him on her side. He moved slightly, but still didn't wake so she leaned over his chest and gave him a kiss to his sternum.

That had him jolt awake. "Ginny?!" She looked up at him with a grin. His arms came around her and pulled her up so she lay completely on top of him. He kissed her full on the lips and his hands trailed down to her bum. He took a sharp inhale when he realized she was only in her knickers. "Hmm. This is the best dream."

Ginny smiled against his mouth. "Most of my dreams involve you being on top." She moved down and nuzzled his neck. He was growing hard against her belly. She was only a little disappointed he was wearing pajama bottoms.

Harry ran his hands up under her shirt and she pulled back to take it off, along with her bra and flung them to the floor with-out a thought. He flipped them over and kissed down her neck and to her breasts, taking a nipple into his mouth. Ginny arched her back and sighed at the feeling. She felt herself grow wet at his touches. "Harry. I want you."

Without hesitation he hooked a finger in her knickers and tugged them down before kissing his way back up to her mouth. He paused hovering over her. "I'm not dreaming, am I?"

She opened her eyes to see him staring down at her face and her breath hitched at the look he was giving her. "No. You aren't dreaming."

He smiled at her and tugged down his pajama bottoms, his erection springing free and hitting her gently against her sex. She rocked against it one time before he reached down between them and positioned himself at her entrance before slowly pushing himself inside her.

The both of them let out a loud exhale at the incredible sensation.

It didn't hurt like last time. He pushed himself all the way in and slowly pulled back before rocking forward again. It felt incredible. She was so full. Full of him.

Harry buried his head in pillow beside her head and had his arms under her shoulders, supporting some of his weight as he rocked in and out of her. She started meeting him half way as he thrust gently forward and together they set the pace. It was slow and steady and made her feel it in her entire body.

Her toes were curling from the pleasure, her thigh muscles were tense and engaging her movements, the muscles in her bum were clenching when he hit that spot deep inside her. Ginny's back was arching with the pleasure, her chest was expanding and contracting with the feeling that built up in her belly, her hands were gripping his back and slowly making their way lower and lower down towards his bum. And her eyes were rolling back behind her closed eyelids showing her the completely erotic image of Harry's hardness pushing inside her over and over again.

There was a familiar sensation building up. She could feel herself getting close to her orgasm and clutched at him tighter with her hands. She felt her body growing stiffer and her breath short and quick.

"Gin." Harry groaned his release. His thrusts turned more to jabs as he came.

'No!' Ginny screamed in her head. She'd been so close. She'd managed not to verbalize her protest, at least she thought so anyways. But a whimper did escape her.

Harry pulled his head up and she saw he was slightly dazed. "Did I hurt you?"

She wanted to demand he keep going. She was entirely turned on and so close. If he could just manage to continue at the pace for two more minutes she was sure she'd be groaning his name too. She shook her head no and tried not to look too disappointed as she felt him soften inside her.

"Ginny?" Harry asked concerned.

She closed her eyes. He thought she was lying about it hurting. The truth would surely be less painful for him than that. "I was so close." She confessed.

She felt Harry let out a breath on her face. He slipped out of her and she opened her eyes to see his messy mop of hair as he lowered himself to kiss her chest. She started breathing hard again as he continued his way south with his kisses.

All.

The way.

Down.

Her whole body tensed up as his mouth came against her folds and she sucked in a gasping breath. She was in shock. They'd talked about how they each wanted to do this to the other ages ago, but she hadn't expected this.

A strangled and satisfied moan escaped her lips as his tongue lapped against her clit and she bucked against his mouth at his movements.

His hands came up to grasp at her breasts and she spread her legs farther apart, fisting her hands in the sheets to try and gain some sense of control over her own body. But it felt so incredible. If there was some way for him to create this sensation with his tongue while he was buried deep inside her she'd do absolutely anything he asked for, completely submit herself over to him and be his slave.

As it was, with just his tongue against her that climb up to her release was building higher, and the fact that she was missing those thrusting movements inside her was almost like delayed gratification, making it somehow hotter. She began bucking against him desperately, not caring how wanton she was coming across because she was about to-

"YES!" She screamed out and arched her back so far that her forehead was nearly in line with the headboard behind her.

Harry kept his lips against her until she relaxed back onto the mattress and then kissed his way back up so he was aligned with her again. She was still coming down from her high but felt him hard against her once more. "Can I?" He asked desperately.

She couldn't talk but nodded. And he filled her once more.

He slid in even easier this time with how wet she was, and she was extra sensitive to the movements. They were both frantically matching thrust this time and her fingernails were digging into the flesh at his hips.

Not entirely sure what she was doing she hooked one of her legs over his and pushed off the mattress with her other foot to flip them over.

At this angle she could grind herself against him while he was still deep inside her. With the pressure against all the right spots she was quickly feeling the buildup in her lower belly again. This time her cry out was simply that, a cry of unadulterated pleasure at the release.

"Fuck!" Harry groaned in amazement and grabbed her hips, thrusting up into her hard at a rapid-fire pace. "So. Tight." He gritted out through clenched teeth before letting out an illegible groan of his own and wrapped his arms around her tight, hugging her to his chest while he continued a few half-hearted thrust.

She had her eyes closed and felt completely satisfied relaxing against his chest as his arms slowly loosened their tight hold around her. His erection softened again and slipped out of her.

They lay there gasping for breath together, chests pressing into each others with each heavy intake of air.

She found her last amount of energy and shifted over to lay beside him tucked into the crook of his arm incapable of any further movement.

**AN- I was referencing Total Recall when Harry remembers the science fiction movie Dudley had been watching.**

**Thanks blattgefluester for correcting the spelling of Kreacher.**


	12. Questions

Consciousness crept back to Harry slowly. His mind woke up, but his eyes didn't open. There was this incredibly satisfied feeling through-out his whole body, but for his left arm. Something was wrong with it.

Did he injure it? What happened that he might have injured it? Yesterday was Christmas and he'd had a great time with Sirius and Remus, and then at the Burrow. Last night had been crazy with the elves and Dumbledore, and this morning he'd woken up and had breakfast with Sirius and Remus before they took Kreacher and Dobby with them to Gringotts, then he went back to his room for a nap.

Ginny!

His eyes snapped open and he looked to his left side and got a face full of her hair.

That was real. That actually happened.

It was incredible. No wonder there were so many songs about sex and poems and stories.

But now his arm was entirely numb and it was kind of painful because she was cuddled hard into his side with her head resting on that shoulder.

Naked.

He could feel her skin pressed up against his and it was a dream. But his arm really needed to move and get the feeling restored. Also, who knew how long they'd had a nap for or when Sirius and Remus would return.

"Ginny." He whispered.

She hummed and cuddled harder into him. She moved her head fully onto his bare chest and that alleviated the pressure on his arm. It was such an odd sensation regaining the feeling to it. Like his arm had been filled with sand and somehow water was now trickling down to his fingers.

And then it was painful.

He tried to lift his arm. It raised a bit, but it was like he somehow had telepathic ability to control it but it wasn't actually attached. Bending it at the elbow he then flexed his fingers and rolled his wrist. It was cold too.

Using his other hand he reached under his pillow and found his wand, casting the Tempus charm to check the time. It was getting on near eleven. If they stayed in bed much longer they were really just asking to get caught.

"Ginny." He whispered again, coaxing her out of her slumber.

She hummed again and buried her face in his chest, nuzzling him there, then giving him a few kisses. He smiled and ran his good hand through her hair. She rested her chin on his chest and looked up. "Hi." She smiled lazily.

"Hi." He was struck again by how he was so in love with her. If he could wake up like this every day for the rest of his life, then that would be great. "We should probably get up. Sirius and Remus could be back at any minute if they aren't already."

A crinkle formed between her eyes. "I thought they were just sleeping off a hang over." She shifted up to lay beside him. His numb side.

"Uh, could you switch sides?" He asked her awkwardly. "My arm is kind of just regaining feeling."

Ginny paused in her shifting, propped up on one elbow. "Oh! Did I cut off your circulation?" She looked down at his arm and bit her lip in humor. "Sorry." She leaned down and gave a few quick kisses to his bicep. "There, that should help speed things up." She grinned and shuffled the covers a bit so she could move over to lay on the other side of him but paused while she was right on top. "By the way." She started in a low voice. Her nose tracing a line on his cheek.

Harry's heart picked up again at their position. She was flush against him. She must know what that would do to him, I mean, her breasts were right against his chest and her legs were straddling his. "B-by the way?" He asked, meaning for her to continue.

"In case you couldn't tell. That was so much better than I could have ever imagined." She told him, looking deeply into his eyes. Meanwhile her bottom half was squirming a little bit, rubbing up against his growing manhood.

"I was worried it had been some amazing dream for a moment there." He admitted.

She grinned. "So did I."

He rolled onto his side, taking her with him so they lay facing each other. His hand trailed down her side. "Ginny. I want to lay here with you all day, but we're really tempting fate as it is." He told her half heartily, lowering his head to kiss her shoulder.

"Mmhmm. Yes, you're being very convincing about this whole putting our clothes back on bit." She pulled at his arm so he would lay on top of her once more and shifted down so their sex's were lined up with each other again. "I mean, one more time wouldn't be pushing things all that much further would it?"

Harry collapsed on a very satisfied Ginny a few minutes later.

"Okay." He panted. "Now we need to get dressed."

"Right." She caught her breath. "We need to be responsible horny teenagers."

Harry chuckled and started to get into a sitting position, unsure about how to actually get from the bed to his dresser. He was naked, and she was right there. It was one thing to be naked under the covers, even though she'd seen him before, but never all at once. He had been partially covered when they went swimming, and even that one time in his dorm bed he'd been partially covered. However now he would be standing up completely naked and felt shy about it.

Ginny came up behind him and hugged him from behind in their seated position. "While you're up, do you mind passing me my clothes?" She kissed his shoulder.

Harry swallowed and felt some heat rising to his face. "Sure." He croaked. He could feel her laughing through the vibrations of her chest on his back. "Why are you laughing?" He asked, trying not to laugh at himself a bit now.

"Just. You." Her hair brushed along either side of his back as she shook her head. The mattress then jostled around as she got out of the bed and began picking up her own clothes.

It seemed she did not mind him getting an eye-full of her in her birthday suit. Then again, she was an amazing work of art bearing all before him. He was just a lanky boy with the beginnings of body hair and muscles that had yet to be defined. Plus, he was hardly going to be making her swoon when he was flaccid.

He was a grower, not a shower.

She was basically putting on a show for him though. Ever so slowly shimmying her knickers up over her thighs, and she even turned away from him so he could watch the soft material slide up over her bum.

Okay. He had to be brave about this. She was turned around. If he was quick enough then he might be able to get to the dresser and start pulling his pants on and all she'd see was his scrawny arse.

Harry took a steadying breath and got up, trying to walk quickly and casually the few steps it took to get to his drawers and set his mind to think only about the process with which one gets dressed in the morning. He did that every day with-out having to think about it. Why did having his lovely girlfriend behind him require all of his brain power to remember which way his pants were supposed to be pulled on.

Once he managed to pull his pants on he grabbed socks and a pair of jeans before turning and seeing Ginny fully dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed with a very amused look on her face.

"What?" He asked holding back a nervous laugh.

"You know I've seen you naked. Right?" She tilted her head at him.

His shoulders sagged. "Yes. I know, but this is... different. I'm not. I wasn't. It doesn't look as impressive when-" He cut himself off at the horror of what he'd just said.

Now she burst out in laughter and fell back on the bed. "Oh Harry!" She wiped the tears of mirth from her eyes and sat back up. "Harry, you just shagged me three times in the span of, what, two hours? I'm plenty impressed."

Well that was a very effective way of settling his nerves. "Really?" He asked wryly. He could stand to hear a little more of this. "What was your favorite part?" He felt success when a blush rose to her face, and he knew exactly what it was she was thinking about then.

He'd studied pretty hard to figure out how that trick was done. Once they'd talked about it he wanted to figure out exactly how one went about satisfying a woman with use of his mouth like that. It had required knicking Seamus' stash one magazine at a time until he found an article that discussed it thoroughly and had actually consulted women about what exactly they liked as well. He thought about that for a week every time he'd needed to wank. It was all worth it to see that blush on her face.

He gave her a cheeky wink and turned back to his dresser to grab a shirt.

Ginny cleared her throat. "Anyways. You said Sirius and Remus had gone somewhere with the House Elves?" She asked.

That brought the crazy end to his Christmas Day flooding back. It had been so confusing.

"Where did they go this early on the day after Christmas? And should I be insulted they forgot I was coming over, or just celebrate the fact they weren't here?" She waggled her eyebrows at him.

"Actually. Something really weird happened last night."

()()()

Ginny knew she was just staring at Harry with a blank expression as he finished his story. That was a lot of information to pack into the twenty or so minutes since they'd gotten dressed and sat down in the library across from his room. It was really too much to process properly in the space of time it took to hear it.

"Ginny?" Harry called her attention.

She blinked. While her eyes may have been on his, she wasn't actually looking at him and seeing the concerned look on his face. He was waiting for her reaction clearly.

"So your awful relatives have been living in your house, not the other way around." She managed.

Harry blinked in surprise at her response. He'd told her all about what had happened with the House Elves and Dumbledore the night before, including that Sirius and Remus were with said Elves at Gringotts right then, which is also why they didn't remember that his girlfriend was coming over and they would have been unsupervised. It was all important information, but she was still wrapping her head around it. But he'd just told her about his meeting with the Gobins too.

All that other stuff didn't rile her up of the injustice of Harry being abused by people who had been so enriched by his presence.

"I. Uh, I haven't really been over the deed or anything. I mean, I have it and was going to go over it the night I got it, but then I was kind of putting off going over that stuff until after Christmas. I just was focusing on getting to know Sirius and, you know, happy stuff." There was a pull at the corner of one side of his mouth as he finished explaining.

"I get that." Ginny nodded, still feeling rather numb and lost in thought. "This is." She paused. "Do you want some lunch? I brought food. It's in the kitchen."

Harry was taken aback by that. "What?"

"I'm just processing." Ginny explained. "I've found it helps my thought process to do something manual. Dishes or the like usually." She gave him a weary smile. It was just an idiosyncrasy of hers. Doing something mind numbing helped her map out things like feelings or Arithmancy problems.

"Um. Okay." He stood up and took her hand. "Lunch it is then."

He led her down into the kitchen and leaned back against the counter while she explored the cupboards in search of crockery.

_So Voldemort wasn't dead. Not entirely. And he'd made a few... fail safe's that would prevent him from perishing entirely. Looking into his life now seemed a better idea than for the simple purpose of adding a chapter to Hermione's book._ Ginny thought over it all.

"Will you be telling Hermione?" Ginny asked, looking up from portioning out the leftovers for the two of them.

"I thought about that." He nodded. "I really want to. She's really good at brainstorming this stuff and thinks things through a little more thoroughly than anyone I know. Plus, you know she'd be really ticked at me if I knowingly kept information from her."

That made Ginny snicker a bit with understanding. "Can you imagine the silent treatment you'd receive?"

Harry had a simple smile playing about on his lips, he was thinking hard over all of this, it was easy to see. "Thing is. I don't even know if I should have shared that with you." Ginny raised her eyebrow a bit. "What I mean is. I don't know if Dumbledore had meant for me to keep this all tucked up under my hat. He'd been keeping his theories to himself this whole time, and with what we now know about the whole Death Eater movement, it could be potentially dangerous information."

"Like if any of the loyal Death Eaters that bribed their way out of Azkaban caught on, then maybe they'd go searching for him?" She cottoned on. "I hadn't thought of that bit."

"Well, I have had this information for a little longer than you." He displayed a little humor over that.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "And I'm sure you spoke to Sirius and Remus about it a little more this morning?" She came to her own conclusion on that. Yes, he was intelligent and could have come to his own conclusion there, but it was rather likely that there had been some talk over breakfast about the whole situation as well. And there was no way that Harry hadn't gotten up with them before they left and he went back to bed. His breath had still held some of the mint of his toothpaste when she'd first kissed him that morning.

"Yeah, maybe." He admitted coming forward to accept his plate of lunch and kiss her temple.

They settled down at the table in the kitchen. "So, I guess now we're just waiting for Sirius and Remus to come back and let us know what they found?" Was there really anything else they could do, she wondered as she ate her cold turkey and stuffing.

"Yeah." Harry sighed. "Oh. I didn't tell you this bit. Apparently it's uncommon and I just didn't know. I'm a Parselmouth." He told her nonchalantly and took another bite.

Ginny was surprised by that information. She knew what it was, and how it had been associated with Dark Magic. But Harry was far from a Dark Wizard. "Huh." Was the only response she could offer.

"Yeah. So that means that I may be needed to be present for them. Er. Killing the things?" He sounded so unsure of how to word that that Ginny just shook her head at him.

"Congratulations?" She offered, not knowing what the correct response to that was.

Harry shrugged and finished off his plate, taking it over to the sink.

"So they've been gone for a few hours now. He must have a lot in his vault for it to take so long." It certainly didn't take long to navigate the Weasley vault. There wasn't anything but a few Galleons and Sickles in there. Huge pile of Knuts though.

"Yeah. When I went in to see about what there was in the Potter name I asked about getting an inventory list of the vaults. I guess Sirius didn't do that."

"Well, what should we do until they get back?" She asked, polishing off her own plate and taking it over to the sink.

"Well." Harry drew out as he moved to stand behind her at the sink and put his hands on her hips.

Ginny bit her lip at that. But as much fun as that had been, it wasn't on offer. She turned around in his arms and gave him a short kiss. "I think I need a little bit before we do that again." She Eskimo kissed his nose.

"Are you okay?" He pulled back and searched her face in worry.

"Fine." She told him honestly. "Just a little sore. I promise you it felt fantastic, but I need a little recovery time."

He nodded, still looking concerned.

She rolled her eyes. "Honestly Harry. I'm fine, you're just packing something...impressive." She teased.

He blushed at that, but grinned sheepishly. "Okay. So how about we just go to the sitting room?"

"Oh! Can we look through your dad's detention slips?" She asked excitedly.

"You didn't read them?"

"No. I wanted to, but it didn't really feel right. I mean. I caught a few of them, not going to lie, but I didn't read through all of them." She'd been too curious and intrigued by the size of the file. "I did see your mum's file though."

"You did?" He asked curiously, probably wondering why he hadn't received that one too.

"Yes. And let me tell you, she had a clean record until your dad corrupted her. The only four slips in her file will also be in James Potter's file." She waggled her eyebrows at him.

Harry grinned, then his grin faltered a bit. "They involved broom closets, didn't they?"

()()()()

"We should have brought lunch with us." Sirius said in a sigh. He looked over the vastness that was his family vault. Really, people wondered how much was too much. Well, this was just too much. It wasn't an easy thing to sort either. He couldn't just snap his fingers and have all coins in this side of the vault, all jewelry on that side, and all dark objects easily organized by their ability to kill or bring back deranged evil doers.

"Why did you have to be so rich?" Remus asked rifling through a chest of drawers, sounding as tired as Sirius was feeling.

It isn't like it was particularly hard work, and Dobby and Kreacher were doing a good job of moving things around for them. The elves levitation charms worked just fine down here. It didn't interfere with Goblin magic, where as if Sirius or Remus were to try the same thing they wouldn't have earned any results. But it was a rather tedious and mentally draining task going through and cataloging.

It must have been going on hour three and they weren't half way done.

Sirius ignored Remus' comment. It would have been the height of pretentiousness to complain about his own wealth. "We should have taken up on Molly's offer of left overs. I could have done with that right now."

"Oh shit." Remus groaned and ran a hand down his face. "Ginny was coming over to yours today."

Sirius took a moment to recall his own memory of the girl telling them she'd wanted to see his house, then he snorted. "Well then, I'd say Harry's having a better time than we are right now."

"Shouldn't you be more concerned?" Even though Remus himself sounded more mentally strained than concerned.

"What can I do about it right now?" Sirius asked him. "We're down here, they're all the way back at the house, and have been for a few hours now probably. If they were to have got up to anything we'd be too late to stop it. Plus, you now. I don't want to do anything to get Ginny farther away from forgiving me." He shrugged and turned his head away from Remus. She hadn't been cold with him yesterday, or when he'd seen her just after they'd arrived at the Burrow after returning from Hogwarts, but she wasn't as... 'Ginny' with him as he knew her to be. She'd been guarded and a little tense. She'd still smiled and engaged in conversations with him, but it just wasn't the same.

"Being a parent figure to Harry means you're going to have to do things that neither of you particularly like." Remus lectured him.

They both seemed to have realized that slacking time was over and started sifting through a new pile of whats-its and do-dads that were centuries old and priceless.

"Yeah." Sirius frowned. "Which I have no experience in, but saw plenty of what that entails at the Weasley's. And I have to wonder if Harry even needs the sex talk at this point in his life? I'm pretty sure it's too late for that."

"He's a sixteen year old boy with his very first girlfriend. I think that even if they're having sex he might appreciate having someone to go to with questions that isn't also a sixteen year old boy. Because as much as I like the boy, I don't think Neville Longbottom has much advise to give, and Seamus Finnegan sure as hell won't have the right answers."

Sirius didn't know who Seamus Finnegan was, but from Remus' tone he assumed it was a randy kid in Harry's dormitory. "Fair point. And he's never come to you about this?"

Remus sighed, and Sirius could hear the frown on his face and the disappointment with himself. "I told you. I was keeping him at arms length, trying to remain the 'friendly professor' role. I wanted to have a closer relationship with him, and if I'd known what his home life was like." He paused. "Well, I probably would have tried to find a way to be in his aunts backyard during a full moon." He only half joked.

"That horrible bitch." Sirius shook his head and opened another drawer in the cabinet he was going through. "Books!" Remus came quickly to his side. "Dobby!" He called out loudly.

Crack

"Dobby is here sir."

"Take a look through these please." Sirius gestured. "Any of them look like the diary?"

They were all hard bound leather books with dark spines facing out at them. Dobby climbed up on a golden anvil beside the cabinet and looked in. His ears started flapping and he bounced on the balls of his feet. "It is the evil diary master." Dobby pointed at one of the spines. It had faded gold lettering reading out 'T.M. Riddle'

Sirius looked over at Remus hesitantly before turning back to Dobby. "Do you know if it will do anything just by my touching it?"

"No Master." Dobby shook his head. "The evil is inside. My old master could touch it with his bare hand."

"Okay." Sirius sucking in a breath, steeling himself for anything that could happen with direct contact. He reached out quickly and snatched it from the drawer. Holding it in his hand he paused. There wasn't a burning sensation or a need to use the Cruciatus curse or anything. He looked over to Remus. "Did I grow antlers or anything?"

"Nope, still just your ugly self."

"Good." He looked closer at the book. "T.M. Riddle." He read aloud and checked the inside of the back page. "Winstanley's Bookstore & Stationers. Vauxhall Road."

The wrinkles on Remus' forehead deepened. "That would be a Muggle shop if it's on Vauxhall road."

"Hmm. Not so into blood purity that he wouldn't take to the Muggle world of retail it seems." Sirius commented and turned back to Dobby. "You're sure that this is it."

"Positive master."

"Good enough for me." He pocketed the book. "We still have to find a way to check through Bella's things."

"And we have no idea what we're looking for." Remus said wearily.

"Food first?" Sirius suggested with a weary optimism.

The goblin that had been assigned to wait outside the vault door seemed eager to lead them back up to the lobby. He'd had literally nothing to do while they'd searched for three and a half hours.

Once at the lobby the wizards each took the hand of an elf and were apparated to Grimmauld Place.

The home had been warded against apparation, but that did not include House Elf apparation. They truly were the most powerful of magical beings, why they were compelled to be bound to humans was a history long lost, all that was known was that their magic increased exponentially when tied to a witch or wizard.

A surprised yell greeted them when the four landed in the sitting room.

Ginny and Harry had been sitting on the couch right beside where they landed. Pages of detention slips had been tossed into the air from the surprised jumps of the two teenagers.

"Merlin!" Ginny exclaimed. "You need a bell or something before you do that."

"Oh good. You're dressed." Sirius grinned cheekily, causing Harry to blush and Ginny to narrow her eyes slightly. "Er. I mean, we're back for lunch." He added awkwardly under Ginny's eye.

The corner of her mouth twitched and she lowered her eyes. "Mum insisted on my bringing leftovers from dinner last night. They're in the kitchen." She stood up and nodded at Remus in greeting.

"Dobby will make up the lunch master." The elf squeaked.

"Just two please Dobby. Ginny and I already ate." Harry asked the elf nicely who nodded and left the room, meanwhile Kreacher actually started cleaning up the sitting room unprompted. "Did you have any success?" Harry asked the men. The older men eyed Ginny first before looking at each other. "Um. I wasn't told not to tell her." Harry said uncomfortably.

"Harry." Remus started cautiously.

"Just Ginny. I swear. I know that this is sensitive information. I get that, really. And I'm not going to just go around school running my mouth, I promise." Harry looked worried that he'd overstepped.

"And I'm not going to tell anyone." Ginny told them honestly.

Remus and Sirius checked with each other once more, each looking like they believed the kids.

"Okay then." Sirius said. "Kitchen?"

Dobby already had two plates dished out and set at the table in the kitchen, the two men dug in immediately groaning at the delicious taste. Remus wiped his mouth with a napkin. "We found the Diary." He told them.

"So are you going to call the Headmaster to check it for. For that." Ginny started and turned to Harry. "What was it called again?"

"Horcrux." Remus answered for him.

"We will." Sirius said after drinking down a glass of water. "We're going to go back down into the vault after we finish eating and have a bit of a rest. Bloody tedious this is." He dug back into his meal.

"You mean you were down there for that long and there's still stuff you haven't gotten to?" Ginny asked with her mouth agape. "Just how big is this vault?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, not at Ginny, nor the question, but at the answer. "You don't want to know. It was unnecessarily large before I closed out my cousin's vaults and transferred their contents, now it is very cluttered."

He could see Ginny wasn't affected by his mention of his wealth. She looked to be picturing it, but not enviously. That was another characteristic of her that Sirius really liked. She wanted for nothing. She'd had love and adventure her whole life and knew that there was no amount of money she would have traded it for. It was because of that that he knew she would be able to forgive him for his deceit, given time.

"What do you think it could be?" She wondered aloud. "One was a locket, that probably belonged to Slytherin's descendants and the other was a book."

Sirius pulled it from his pocket and placed it on the middle of the table. "One belonging to T.M. Riddle."

Harry reached over and pulled it closer to examine it. He flipped it over and quickly leafed through the pages. "It's empty." He stated the obvious and read the inscription of the makers address on the last page. "It just looks like a journal that had never been used."

"And the locket looked like a necklace." Remus pointed out. "Dark objects can be anything. There was once a book that if you started reading it you could never stop. Once you finished you simply started reading it all over again. It sounds like a prank object, but it was a curse."

"Huh. I hope it was an interesting read at least." Ginny commented dryly. Three pairs of eyes turned to her and she shrugged in response, not regretting her joke not landing. She turned behind her and grabbed a self inking quill off of the ledge behind them and flipped open the first page. "My name is Tiffany." She wrote quickly before anyone could stop her.

Sirius' heart jumped into his throat at that. "What are you thinking?" His voice thundered out and he pulled the diary across the table towards he and Remus. "You don't write in a possibly cursed book."

Ginny looked up at Sirius in shock, her hand poised where it had been over the page and mouth slack, looking like she'd just been slapped. "I." She started. Her brown eyes were wide staring at him with a touch of fear.

Everyone was frozen in that moment.

"Look!" Remus was staring down at the diary as Ginny's words disappeared and were replaced with meticulous cursive writing.

_'Hello Tiffany. My name is Tom Riddle. How did you come into possession of my diary?'_

Sirius read the writing and looked back at Ginny. She'd started playing a very dangerous game. He flipped the page of the diary closed and put it back in his pocket.

Ginny lay the quill down on the table and looked down at the wood. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "I shouldn't have done that."

Sirius was vibrating slightly. Not with anger, but with terror. What if she'd done that and found herself possessed or cursed or something. She could have been stuck writing in that diary unable to stop until she died of old age. Anything could have happened to her.

"No more writing in enchanted diaries. Okay?" He asked tersely. She didn't look at him but nodded her head.

"Who's Tom Riddle?" Harry asked, looking back and forth between his girlfriend and Sirius.

"Don't know." Remus answered, seeming grateful to move the discussion forward and away from what just happened. "Probably someone important. I can't imagine Voldemort would have just used any old thing to store a piece of his soul."

"Perhaps Dumbledore will know." Sirius said and got up to put his dish in the sink. He looked back at the table from where he stood, eyes on Ginny. She had an embarrassed blush on her cheeks.

He'd seen her scolded by her parents and her brothers a time or two, but she had always stood her ground or grumbled about it. None of those times were for anything particularly dangerous. He'd been witness to her talking to's over two of her broken bones, and while there had been tears over the pain, she had her eyes and jaw set at the lectures. This time it was plainly apparent she realized what she'd done was dangerous, but he wasn't going to brush it off. If she was going to keep holding him at arms length then he'd let her, but he wasn't going to give her a pass over this just because he wanted to be in her good graces.

"I'll be back in a few." He headed for the door. A nap was not out of order really but there wasn't time for that. Hopefully in another three or four hours they'd have found another item. They could have gotten the goblins to look over everything, but they don't open items. The diary was found in a drawer, something else might be found in a trunk or something.

He'd reached the second floor landing when he heard quick steps behind him. He turned around and saw Ginny half way up the stairs, coming at him in a hurry. "Ginny?"

She came at him full impact and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight and pressing her cheek hard into his chest. His heart melted a bit. This was what he'd been hoping for nearly two months. Real emotions from her, no farce to make everyone else more comfortable.

He brought his arms around her too and rested his cheek on the top of her head. She used to hug him close all the time. He loved when she'd scratch his ears, call him a good boy and then plant a kiss right between his eyes. She was important to him and he wanted his Ginny back.

He heard her sniffle. "We're okay?" He asked her.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" She whispered.

He sighed. "I've been in some pretty bad situations in my time, but I can't think of a time recently when my heart stopped like that."

"I'm sorry." She buried her face in his shirt, and it felt to him like she was wiping away a few tears.

He ran a comforting hand through her hair. "Not crying are you?" He teased softly.

"Well I normally wipe them off on my dogs fur but he's not around anymore, so your shirt will have to do." She loosened her hold and pulled back to look up at him. "I'm sorry I've been distant with you too."

He cupped under her chin and looked directly into her eyes. "No more careless moves with potentially deadly objects?"

She smiled in relief. "I'll do my best."

"Good." He pulled her in for another hug.

"Thank you." She told him endearingly

His eyebrows knit together a bit at that. "For what?"

Ginny pulled back with a soft smile on her face and her eyes shining. "For working to adopt Harry. He's really touched, and he deserves it."

Sirius swallowed down some of his own emotions then. He'd been close to tears when he and Harry had spoken the night before. The only reason he managed was because he reminded himself that he was the adult and he had to be strong for Harry. Ginny's empathy for his godson was bringing that all back up.

He wanted to thank her for loving Harry as much as she obviously did, but there was no way he would be able to get the words out. Instead he hugged her closer and kissed the top of her head once before removing himself from her grasp and turning back up the stairs.

Not with out seeing a knowing look on her face.

()()()

With Remus and Sirius taking off after kicking around the house for an hour and taking the Elves with them Harry and Ginny were once again left alone.

Ginny assured him that she'd been appropriately humbled and apologetic to Sirius about her stupidity, and they'd cleared the air between them in regards to more than just her writing in a Dark object with out thinking through the potential consequences. She and Sirius had mended the bridge in their relationship and could be friends again.

It had startled Harry when Sirius yelled at her for writing in the journal. His godfather had looked absolutely horrified about her writing those four little words. But he was right to have told her off like that. Really, anything could have happened and he'd been worried about her safety in that instinctive moment above anything else. Had Harry realized all that could have happened by her doing that, he would have yelled at her too then.

Now she and Harry found themselves once again in the sitting room laughing with James Potters disciplinary folder between them, she held the last slip to her chest as she sat cross legged on the couch alongside Harry with all the humor twinkling in her eyes. "I really don't think you want me to read this one." She stated playfully.

"Come on now. I've seen the three about he and my mum getting up to no good in the broom cupboards."

"I didn't say anything about this one being about your mum." She tried and failed to play off.

"You did however say that there were four slips in my mum's folder and they all involved my dad. We've been through all of his slips save for that one. Thus, I deduce, my dear Watson, that it is the Potter and Evans in a broom cupboard caught red-handed." Harry joked.

"Who's Watson?" Ginny laughed, not understanding his Sherlock Holmes and CLUE references.

He held his hand out. "Just give it here, or read it out."

"Well." Ginny cringed lightly, still trying not to laugh.

Harry snatched it out of her hands and read it over quickly. "Urgh! They were actually caught! Gross."

Ginny moved the folder from between them to the coffee table and settled herself in his lap. He stretched his legs out on the couch for her to settle back against him comfortably. "At least now you know they weren't the 'save yourself for marriage type'." She offered. "Means if they had any problems with what we've been up to then they're hypocrites."

"Yay. Silver lining of reading about my parent's sex life." He mock celebrated.

Ginny reached up behind her and patted Harry on the cheek sympathetically. "If it helps, my parents have forgotten a silencing spell a few times and I've-"

"Ginny. Please don't make me push you off the couch." He cut her off. He added the last detention slip to the folder and hugged her closer to him. "What do you want to do for the rest of the day? It's only just after two."

"Well. We're in London right?"

"You want to explore the neighborhood a bit?"

"I did bring my lovely new coat. And I'd suggest we just head back to mine and play some Quidditch, but I thought I might be able to convince you to do that tomorrow."

"That sounds great. Yeah, lets go for a walk."

()()

"My goodness. For such a prestigious area there really isn't anything more than houses and little dinky parks around here, is there?" Ginny commented once they'd found their way back to Grimmauld Place after an hour of wandering.

"Yeah. And I didn't want to go too far, what with not knowing the layout of this area, but the only off license for getting crisps is a twenty minute walk? There must be one closer." Harry complained. "Shall we see if there's any hot chocolate?" He kicked off his boots and headed for the kitchen.

Ginny groaned. "That would be great. And I want to see some of the Quidditch equipment Sirius got you." He'd told her about it on their walk around the neighborhood. And had noticed the clothes he'd gotten were already put to use. She was tempted to check his drawers and chuck any stray hand-me-downs she found from the cousin of his.

"Deal." Harry chuckled excitedly.

They each went through the cupboards starting on a different end in search of hot chocolate mix in the kitchen. "Success!" Harry exclaimed getting to the small cupboard over the stove. "Only problem would be if we found out it's been here since before Sirius' incarceration."

Ginny went over and sniffed. "Still seems good. container looks new-ish." She regarded the cardboard looking outside of the container.

They got the kettle going and carried their warm mugs up to Harry's room. He set the fireplace aflame and they sat on the floor in front of his multi compartment trunk and opened it to the Quidditch gear which they admired over it for a bit. Once done they put it all back and he opened the rest of the compartments due to Ginny's curiosity.

One of the compartments turned into a desk. This had been where Harry had left the paperwork that he'd received from Gringotts, and he'd already sorted out his school work and text books as well.

"Someone was keen to play with his new toy." Ginny teased a bit.

Harry blushed, but grinned. "Yeah. It's really cool. I just had the impulse to start using it." He pulled out the Gringotts business. "These are the properties that I apparently own." He plopped them down on the floor between them and they leaned back against the trunk.

"You don't mind me seeing them?" She asked. It was his own private personal information after all.

"No." He completely dismissed any potential reason not to share this with her. "I haven't even looked into the two other properties."

Ginny gave him an incredulous look. "Is there a specific reason why you haven't?" He'd had this information for five days now.

"It was just a lot." He admitted and nudged the paperwork. "And there's more surprises to come."

"Harry." She said sympathetically. "I'm trying really hard not to call you a poor little rich boy." She patted his hand. He looked up from the floor to her face and she cocked an eyebrow at her, so he'd know she said it in jest. His face cracked and he looked suitably embarrassed about his situation. "Want to go through them now? See if maybe there are some accompanying pictures of the other two houses you haven't been to?"

His brow furrowed a bit at that. "I do. I also want to see how it is that my relatives are living in a house with my name on the title."

"Well, that'll be this pile." She had sifted through the paperwork in a cursory manor, separating it out. "4 Privet Drive, Surrey." And they found the slip of paper with those details right on top.

**Agreement for Deed  
Contract subject to Arbitration**

_This Agreement for Deed is entered into on this 1st day of November 1981 between Harry James Potter, Lord of hereafter known as the "Title Holder" and Petunia Rose Dursley nee Evans hereafter known as the "Receiver."_

_Witnesseth that if Receiver shall not fulfill their obligation stated in the covenants hereafter described said Agreement for Deed is void._

_1\. Title Holder hereby agrees to hand over full Title to Four Privet Drive, Surrey to Receiver upon their age or majority date of birth._

_2\. Receiver is to act in a parental capacity to Title Holder until said age of majority including upkeep of health and welfare._

_Upon the age of majority birth date of the Title Holder the Deed will automatically pass to the Receiver in full including back paid expenses incurred for upkeep of said property for the duration of years in which the Title Holder was a resident under the Receiver's care._

_If for any reason the Title Holder is not in the Receiver's care for their date of majority date of birth the Agreement is void._

Ginny looked up at Harry with wide eyes. He was staring down at the piece of parchment with his mouth agape. This would mean if he wasn't living there on his seventeenth birthday, then they could be kicked out.

"That's the only reason they kept letting me come back." He whispered. "So they could keep the house?"

"Those bastards don't deserve you." She was fuming inside

()()()

Sirius and Remus returned to Grimmauld Place after another three hour scouring of the massive Black vault to find only Harry occupying the couch in the sitting room. They were mentally drained and Sirius had admitted defeat after two and a half hours there and ordered the house elves to open every drawer and trunk in sight. He was going to get the Goblins to do a full inventory listing every book, necklace, sword, chalice, and whatever else they came across. There was just too much and he couldn't tell if Bellatrix's belongings had gone in a specific location or Narcissa's and Regulus'.

"And?" Harry asked them.

They shook their head. "No idea." Sirius answered and rubbed his eyes before giving out a yawn. "What did you two get up to here?" He didn't ask at lunch time, he didn't really want to know now, but Ginny wasn't around and Harry was his responsibility. He should have a proper talk with him about women.

He was certainly going to be talking about it in the broadest sense of the word. He really didn't want to start off with 'when you're in bed with Ginny, there's a few things you need to know'. Remus and he had discussed how he needed to bring this up with Harry, and they'd certainly grown close over the last few days. He was sure Harry felt comfortable with him now.

"We went for a little walk around the neighborhood." Harry shrugged. "Not really much of interest in this area."

That gave Sirius pause. He hadn't told Harry not to leave the house, and he'd been taking care of himself for the last few years, but there was a matter of safety now that there hadn't been yesterday. They had proof that a man who'd tried and failed to kill him when he was a baby was still out there.

"We also took a look at some of the information I got from the goblins." Harry held up a piece of parchment for he and Remus to take a look at.

He skimmed the Deed Agreement he was handed, his eyebrows raising with each line.

From beside him he heard Remus' mouth drop open. "They get the house when you turn seventeen? And a bit of gold too?"

Sirius was shaking slightly with rage at this information. They were keeping him not out of familial obligation, but because they'd get a paycheck and a house at the end of his adolescence. Well, he'd just make sure that didn't happen.

They only had him for two and a half months during the summer for the last five years and still they had put no effort into his upbringing. He'd had a good heart to heart with Harry about how they treated him. Neglect was the biggest issue, closely followed by depriving him of adequate nutrition and giving him excessive amounts of chores. And that was only if he took what Harry had told him as gospel.

"Well then. It'll be interesting to see how they take it when they loose custody of you before you're of age then, won't it." Remus smirked.

Yes.

Remus. Smirked.

Remus was not the malicious sort, so seeing him react like that calmed Sirius down dramatically. "You're right." Sirius grinned evilly. "They are going to lose their shit. Like. Actually lose their shit." His eye's flashed at the prospect. "I wonder if they've been banking on this as well?" He pondered. From what he recalled their home had a nice upkeep about it. Fresh flowers, fresh paint and a new car.

The men turned to see Harry's reaction. He was looking between the two men seeming rather lost in thought and a bit downtrodden.

"Hey." Sirius took a seat beside him on the couch. "What's going on in there?" He tapped him on the head.

"I've just been going over it. I was floored when I found out, and Ginny was pissed." His eyes went wide, no doubt remembering how that girl could get when she was angry. "I guess I'm still just processing. Its... sad. I guess I'm more upset about it than angry right now."

"Is she still here?" Remus asked, checking around the room for some sign of her.

"No. She wanted to stay at least until you guys got back, but I told her I just needed some alone time. To, process."

"She was okay with that?" Sirius asked dubiously.

"No." Harry blushed. "But." he shrugged one shoulder. "She didn't argue."

"Are you still processing?" Remus asked. "Want to talk about it now?"

"Nah. Can you tell me what happened at Gringotts? What's going to happen with the Diary?"

"It's still in my pocket." Sirius patted his coat. "I'll send a message to Dumbledore about it. We can't keep looking through the vault. I almost never want to look at gold ever again." Remus nodded with wide unseeing eyes in agreement. "I'm paying the Goblins to do a full inventory list. It'll cost near 1000 galleons, but I've seen too much proof of how I can afford it."

"1000 galleons?!" Harry asked astounded. "So that means you're four times more rich than me?" He grinned.

Sirius made a show of breathing on his finger nails and 'polishing' them on his shoulder that made the other two chuckle.

"Come on. I'm hungry. Any more of Molly's left overs in the ice box?"

()()()()

Dumbledore stood in front of his pedestalled curio cabinet. It contained several memories from over the years that he felt would someday hold importance. The second lowest shelf had a row dedicated to memories relating to Tom Riddle taken from several witches and wizards, and even a House Elf.

He had gone over all the different methods that Tom could have used in the past five years. It had been most likely that it would be a Horcrux. He just had no proof. His wishing for it not to be true may have been why he hadn't gone out in search of them after his encounter with Quirinus.

There had been no signs of him since. No mysterious deaths, no Death Eater movement to revisit the past. He still suspected he was hiding out in a country on the continent, as that was where he suspected Quirinus may have encountered him.

Quirinus been travelling through the Balkan Peninsula before returning to Hogwarts for his teaching position, and hadn't been wearing a turban before the trip, during the interview.

He recognized the locket the House Elf had been hiding right away. It had been Salazar Slytherin's and he'd seen it three times before in the memories on his shelf; around the neck of Marvolo Gaunt, being sold by a very pregnant Merope Gaunt, and from Hepzibah Smith's own House Elf, Hokey. If Tom had gotten the locket, then he must have taken Hufflepuff's cup as well.

He would want important objects to hold his soul.

Dumbledore reached into the display and took the memory from his previous colleague. This would have contained the memory that would confirm his theory, but it wasn't accurate. Horace Slughorn hadn't realized at the time of the event that he was encouraging the evil young wizard to make such terrible steps towards indestructability, he'd realized after though and managed to alter his own memory at the time of its retrieval from his mind.

Three or Seven.

That was what he really wanted to know.

If this locket was one, and Sirius would inform him that they had located the Diary, then if Hufflepuff's cup showed up, were they done locating them? Had he continued on to try for seven? Had he succeeded in getting to seven or did his life get interrupted somewhere along the way?

So many questions.

And Harry.

His formative years may not have been what his parents had envisioned for him, but since coming to Hogwarts he had been living in this lovely little bubble with his friends and his studies and nothing else to really be concerned about. Now it looked like it was time to tell him what his prophesized future may be.

Or should he stay off that conversation until he is seventeen, as he'd intended?

Harry's being a Parselmouth caused more questions as well. It was not in the Potter line, and it certainly wasn't part of the Evan's line either. But it was an inherited trait.

Perhaps probing down that rabbit hole should be left until another time. For now he was just going to be grateful that Harry would be able to assist them in opening the locket to destroy what was inside.

Dumbledore picked up the vial with the memory of Bob Ogden's visit to the Gaunt family home. That was the memory of Marvolo Gaunt wearing the locket. In this memory there was another heirloom as well that Tom could have gotten his hands on.

A tapping at the window pulled him from his reminiscences and he opened his window with a wave of his wand to allow the owl in.

**_Got the Diary. SOB_**

He let out an adolescent huff of amusement at Sirius' signature. No doubt that was Sirius' intention.

This left him with the last question. Destroy them as they are found, or all at once?

Tom may be able to feel if one of his pieces of soul were destroyed, and that could call him out of hiding.

Then again, that might be for the best.


	13. Laundry

**AN- Some text taken straight from HBP for the Slughorn memory and adapted to fit the new situation.**

Sirius sat back in the high back chair in Dumbledore's office, his feet crossed at the ankles.

This powerful man in front of him had been keeping a lot of theories to himself. And that was understandable, they were just theories after all. Xenophilius Lovegood didn't keep any of his theories to himself and he was thought of as a complete loon. If Dumbledore went around claiming he didn't believe Voldemort was dead then he could have possibly lost his position at Hogwarts, and on the Wizengamut. But here he was with the proof of the lengths Voldemort had gone to, sorry, his name was actually Tom Riddle as Sirius had just found out. Way less foreboding. But still, it would be too much to let people know the truth. The reign of terror they went through because of this man, people would descend into panic if they knew he was still around.

Dumbledore was now asking that Sirius attempt to become on friendly terms with his old Potions Master, and it was an odd request. Slughorn had been a collector of sorts. He went through his whole life wanting to be 'famous by association'. Anyone that showed promise in sport, politics, business or anything really, then he wanted them to be on the best of terms with him. Lily had been in the Slug Club, his self-named gathering of such people, but none of the Marauders had.

"You think I have enough notoriety for old Sluggy to be interested?" Sirius asked dubiously. Yes, he was known all around the wizarding world now as the escaped exonerated prisoner of Azkaban, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Dumbledore was holding something back. "And..." He hesitated.

Sirius frowned and gave him a hard stare. "And Harry." He finished for him.

The old man tilted his head in assent. "Lily was one of his favorite students, and there is certain acclaim behind Harry Potter."

"To what end?" Sirius shook his head. "What does Slughorn know about all this." He indicated to the locket and the diary on Dumbledore's desk. "That you don't?"

"The number." Dumbledore said sadly.

Sirius brow knit together. "He knows how many would have been made?"

"I believe he knows how many would have been the end goal." Dumbledore had a resigned look come over his face. "I believe I need to show you this in order for you to fully understand." He rose from his seat and led Sirius over to a big stone basin, collecting a glass decanter with a swirling silver liquid. He removed the stopper from the decanter and poured it into the basin.

"Is this a Pensive?" Sirius asked. He'd heard of them, but never seen one before.

"It is." Dumbledore turned to his display case and took a vial from the second lowest shelf. "And this is a memory from Horace Slughorn." He pulled off the top and poured that too into the basin.

"So, how?" Sirius looked down over the bowl.

"Simply place your face in it."

Sirius felt weary about sticking his face in a bowl full of an unknown potion on the word of one man, even if that man seemed sure that nothing untoward would happen to him. Sirius was a rather vain man, admittedly, and if something should happen to his handsome face that meant Amelia or any other woman would suddenly find him repulsive, well, that wasn't going to happen. "After you." He challenged.

Dumbledore said nothing, he simply went to the bowl and placed his face in the liquid and his body followed.

"Magic is so weird." Sirius sighed. Sometimes he thought Muggles had it better than them. At least the laws of science were straight forward. The laws of magic were all over the place.

He shook out his hands and shoulders to ready himself for possibly doing something quite stupid and leaned forward. A falling sensation came over him, and he... landed wasn't quite the right word, but he found himself in another part of the castle with a scene before him.

It was a much younger Horace Slughorn. Sirius had been so used to remembering him as bald that he found the sight of Slughorn with thick, shiny, straw-colored hair quite disconcerting; it looked as though he had had his head thatched, though there was already a shiny Galleon-sized bald patch on his crow. His mustache, less massive than it had been in his school days, it was gingery-blond. He was not quite as rotund as the Slughorn Sirius knew, though the golden buttons on his richly embroidered waistcoat were taking a fair amount of strain. His little feet resting upon a velvet pouffe, he was sitting well back in a comfortable winged armchair, one had grasping a small glass of wine, the other searching through a box of crystallized pineapple.

Sirius looked around at Dumbledore beside him and saw that they were standing in Slughorn's old office. Half a dozen boys were sitting around Slughorn, all on harder or lower seats than his, and all in their mid-teens.

'Sir, is it true that Professor Merrythought is retiring?' A boy asked.

"That is our young Mr. Riddle." Dumbledore told Sirius. Sirius observed this boy closely. His was the most handsome face and he looked the most relaxed of all the boys. His right hand lay negligently upon the arm of his chair.

'Tom, Tom, if I knew I couldn't tell you,' said Slughorn, wagging a reproving, sugar-covered finger at Riddle, though ruining the effect slightly by winking. 'I must say, I'd like to know where you get your information, boy' more knowledgeable than half the staff, you are.'

Riddle smiled' the other boys laughed and cast him admiring looks.

'What with your uncanny ability to know things you shouldn't, and your careful flattery of the people who matter- than you for the pineapple, by the way, you're quite right, it is my favorite-'

As several of the boys tittered, something very odd happened. The whole room was suddenly filled with a thick white fog, so Sirius could see nothing but the face of Dumbledore, who was standing beside him. Then Slughorn's voice rang out through the mist, unnaturally loudly '-You'll go wrong, boy, mark my words.'

The fog cleared as suddenly as it had appeared and yet nobody made any allusion to it, nor did anybody look as though anything unusual had just happened. Bewildered, Sirius looked around as a small golden clock standing upon Slughorn's desk chimed eleven o'clock.

'Good gracious, is it that time already?' said Slughorn. 'You'd better get going, boys, or we'll all be in trouble. Lestrange, I want your essay by tomorrow or it's detention. Same goes for you, Avery.'

Slughorn pulled himself out of his armchair and carried his empty glass over to his desk as the boys filed out. Riddle however, stayed behind. Sirius could tell he had dawdled deliberately, wanting to be last in the room with Slughorn.

'Look sharp, Tom,' said Slughorn, turning round and finding him still present. 'You don't want to be caught out of bed out of hours, and you a prefect…'

'Sir, I wanted to ask you something.'

'Ask away, then, m'boy, ask away…'

'Sir, I wondered what you know about… about Horcruxes?'

And so it happened all over again: the dense fog filled the room so that Sirius could not see Slughorn or Riddle at all; only Dumbledore, smiling serenely beside him. Then Slughorn's voice boomed out again, just as it had done before.

'I don't know anything about Horcruxes and I wouldn't tell you if I did! Now get out of here at once and don't let me catch you mentioning them again!'

"Well, that's that." Said Dumbledore placidly beside Sirius. "Time to go."

Sirius took an unnecessary gasp of air upon finding himself standing upright in Dumbledore's office once more. "So that's what he looked like before?" Referring to the young Tom Riddle. "Was it creating the Horcrux? Is that why he looked so... well, ugly, at the end?"

"Perhaps." Dumbledore had an amused twinkle in his eye, no doubt due to that being Sirius' first concern. "When the soul is ripped apart piece by piece, I can assume that he becomes less of a man."

Sirius let out a shiver of disgust. Who really wanted to live forever? Particularly at that cost. He had ripped his soul apart at least twice, that had to have some health side effects as well. Possibly having an adverse effect on one's magic as well.

"Back to my reason behind showing you the memory." Dumbledore led off and returned the memory to the vial, putting it back in the cabinet, then going over to sit back down. "It has been tampered with."

"Thought it was odd." Sirius agreed. "You think he did fill him in on Horcruxes?"

"Yes. And I really need to know. We, really need to know." He corrected, including Sirius. "What was actually said."

Sirius thought over the problem. Slughorn was an interesting individual, and he'd never taken to Sirius. But Harry. He had the history and the link to Lily. "I'll talk to Harry." He decided. "If he's going to be helping us out with all of this, then he'll need to know everything."

There was some thought that had passed quickly through Dumbledore's head. Something he was holding back. "You can tell him everything you've learned."

"I wasn't actually looking for your permission there. More informing you." Sirius told him snidely. "What aren't you telling me?"

"There are a few things I was hoping to not inform Harry of until he was of age." He pointed to the objects on his desk. "These have just accelerated the timeline for that." He said sadly.

"Is this about the prophecy?" Sirius asked, suddenly remembering.

Dumbledore's eyebrows went up in surprise. "You know of it?"

"Not everything, but James and Lily did tell me the reason they had to go into hiding was because of a prophesy about their son. I thought that was done and over with." He felt some panic now. Was Harry still in danger? Voldemort was out there, sure, but he wasn't a proper being at the moment, and had no influence so far as they knew. None of the 'reformed' Death Eaters had tried to make a move against Harry in the fifteen years since the supposed downfall, he should be safe to live as he pleases now.

Dumbledore sighed, this time in somewhat defeat. "I truly wish it had ended there that night, but with him still being alive, in one form or another, it isn't fulfilled yet."

"Well, what exactly does it say?" He asked angrily then put up his hand. "You know what? Don't tell me right now. How about this. You need Harry to get that locket open, then how about you do something for me?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out several folded papers and lay them out flat in front of the man. "Back me on this."

Curious, Dumbledore looked down at the papers, his jaw going slack slightly. "You want to adopt him?"

"Yes. And I need someone of stature to back me in my decision. Someone who knows both Harry and I." Sirius sat back again, crossing his arms with a determined look on his face. He really had no say over Harry's choices right then. But if he was his proper legal guardian then he would have some say to speak on his behalf. Granted he wouldn't be offering him up as sacrifice or anything, obviously he'd consult Harry on anything major or minor for his involvement, but at least this way everything in the eyes of the Ministry would be on the up and up.

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. "There are certain protections in place at his Aunt and Uncle's home."

"You mean Harry's home." Sirius corrected. "Those horrible Muggles have been mistreating him since you left him on their doorstep." He growled. "I don't care what extra wards I have to put around Grimmauld, he will not be going back there."

"Mistreated?" He asked carefully.

"You didn't even look in on him, did you? He had no one actually caring for him. Do you have any idea how hard it was to see that? It was the first thing I did when I got out of Azkaban, was track him down. I had no trouble, so what possible protections could there be around that house?" Sirius challenged.

"Anyone wishing him harm would have-" Dumbledore started, but was cut off by a scoff from Sirius. "There was someone looking in on him." He tried to assure. "One of the neighbors that looked after him from time to time. She informed me of is disposition but couldn't prove any mistreatment. Simply told me that he was a sweet and polite boy."

"To a fault to be sure." Sirius countered. "He was deprived of love Albus." He refused to give in to the decorum behind calling him by his surname at this point. "It's amazing that he's turned out the way he has. I for one know what it's like to be surrounded by family that hates you. It changes you. You could have done some serious damage mentally to him, you know that?"

Dumbledore did look remorseful, but Sirius had worked himself up to be too angry to feel the slightest bit forgiving. "Sign the paper. I will take care of Harry. He and I will work out what's best for him."

"This would require the Dursley's to sign it as well." Dumbledore pointed out.

"No, it wouldn't." Sirius stated pointedly. "I am his godfather and have the paperwork to prove it. There was nothing stating that he belonged with them, that was something that you decided."

"It was what was best for him at the time. What alternative would you have had me take?" Dumbledore asked honestly. "Everyone was clamoring to know what became of him. I thought it best to keep him out of the limelight, to not grow up with all that."

"Instead he grew up in misery! Was there really no one in the Order that you thought could have done a good job of making him feel part of the family? What about Andromeda? Or the Weasley's? And Augusta Longbottom may have had to raise young Neville all by herself after what happened to his parents, but those two could have been raised as brothers. Any of these options would have been preferable." Sirius argued. He'd thought over what could have happened in lieu of Harry being stuck with the Dursleys several times. Yes, hind sight was 20/20, but really. There were so many options.

"All I can do now is apologize. I never claimed to have all the answers, but you must understand that I had to make a quick decision. Petunia Dursley was the closest blood relative of Harry's, and she was Lily's sister. There was a blood ward protecting him at their residence, I did what I thought was right at the time."

Sirius' anger about it wasn't going to go away simply because he apologized and explained his reasoning, however logical it was at the time. Whoever the neighbor was that was reporting back on Harry's well-being was deluded or an idiot, he should have been removed from that home well before his eleventh birthday. "Sign it." Sirius told him again through clenched teeth.

To his merit, Dumbledore did look humbled and rather ashamed of his poor choice. He took up his quill and put it to the paper, signing his backing to have guardianship of Harry James Potter placed in the hands of Sirius Orion Black.

Sirius didn't thank him, he simply picked up the papers from the desk and put them back in his pocket. "Now then. What shall we do about these?"

"When do you believe the Goblin's will be done cataloging the rest of the items in your vault?" He asked delicately.

Sirius shrugged. "They usually are fairly quick about their business, but there is a lot of items in there. It would be helpful to know what it is that I might be looking for once I have the list."

"It would most likely be a relic, something of significance."

"That diary wouldn't have stood out to me as a significant item had I not known what I was looking for." Sirius pointed out.

"True, but it was his childhood Diary, with his name on it."

"Which neither Remus nor I knew by the way." Sirius exasperated. "I don't know that I've ever heard reference to his birth name, why is that? Was he so feared that somewhere along the way everyone just forgot what it was?"

"I believe when he was in his mid-twenties he disappeared for a bit, by the time he re-emerged into society he looked nothing like his childhood self and was called by the name Lord Voldemort. Only a few knew they were one in the same."

"Then it was probably in his missing years that he created these Horcruxes." Sirius sighed. "How do you plan on destroying them? What method?"

Dumbledore observed them closely once more. "The Diary we may be able to deal with right now. It can be opened."

"And written in." Sirius stated through clenched teeth. He still couldn't believe Ginny had done that, she should have known better.

Dumbledore's eyes flashed to his. "You wrote in it?"

"Not me." He shook his head. "Someone else, and they have already been yelled at over it." He assured him testily. "But the diary did write back."

The old man looked curiously back down at the book. "What did it say?"

"That it was Tom Riddle and asked how they came into possession of his diary."

Dumbledore picked up the diary and turned it over in his hands. "Perhaps we could learn a thing of two from the piece of soul inside it."

"You think it's going to tell you how many were made?" Sirius asked dubiously. "If you're just going to keep it as is, then I'll take it back and destroy it myself."

His mouth pursed at the prospect. "We don't know what it might be capable of."

"Yes we do." Sirius stated. "Evil. It is capable of evil. Nothing 'good' could possibly come from sitting on top of a piece of Voldemort's soul. If you don't do something about it, then I will assume you won't do anything about the locket either. Don't make me regret letting you in on this." He said honestly. "They are my property, and I will take them away from you if you don't swear to destroy them at the earliest opportunity."

Dumbledore squared his shoulders and looked Sirius dead in the eye, going over his options before conceding. "The diary we can destroy right now, the locket we will need Harry for. Also, I would like some time to find a way to destroy the piece of soul encased in it but keep the locket intact. It is a priceless heirloom after all, belonging to one of our founders."

Sirius nodded. That was fair enough, though he could easily supply him with a hundred priceless lockets just like it. Not one having belonged to Salazar Slytherin, but still priceless jewelry none the less.

"Alright then. Let us head to a secure place in the castle. I believe Fiendfyre will be the best course of action."

Sirius didn't let on that he found that to be rather drastic, but it would be the easiest at the moment. At least it was getting destroyed right away. He'd never seen Fiendfyre in action, but heard the stories of the damage it could incur, and had been witness to some of the aftermath of its use during the last war, it was not controllable but by the most determined and powerful of casters. During the last war it had been used several times to burn down the homes of enemies of the Dark Lords, those casting the spell then weren't concerned about the destruction it would cause.

Dumbledore rose from his chair and led the way out of his office and to the staircase leading up to the fourth floor. Silently, Sirius followed him all the way to the seventh floor, wondering if they would be going all the way to the Astronomy Tower, but the man turned down a hallway away from the tower. As they were down an abandoned hallway, that didn't lead towards anywhere particular that Sirius could call to mind, Dumbledore turned abruptly and back tracked, then turned towards where Sirius was standing. He walked right back up to Sirius again before turning around once more. Three times he did this before a door appeared.

"What?" Sirius' jaw dropped. He'd mapped out the entirety of the castle in his seven years of attendance, never before had he seen this door.

"The House Elves call it the 'Come and Go Room'." Dumbledore explained with a smile. "I only discovered it's existence a few years ago by accident." He chuckled. "I was in desperate need of a toilet and forgot for a moment which way it was to the closest one, then the door appeared. Low and behold, behind stood a room full of commodes."

He opened the door and revealed an empty room. It was roughly the size of the Headmasters office and had nothing but the castle walls and stone flooring with four torches for light. Dumbledore moved to the center of the room and placed the Diary on the stone pedestal that suddenly appeared there. He flipped the pages open to roughly the middle and took a few steps back.

"Please stay behind me at all times."

As if that even needed to be stated. Sirius had no intention of burning to death in an inferno. He would rather have stood on the other side of the door, however he wanted to be witness to this. He would have liked Remus to be witness to this as well, but as tonight was the full moon he'd excused himself to head to his father's house for rest. Now at least Sirius knew he could show what happened through the Pensive.

He held his breath waiting for Dumbledore to cast the spell, moving back towards the wall behind him.

Once the flames erupted from the tip of the man's wand the entire room temperature began to go up. It was a winding ribbon of flames that wound its way around the diary, the power with which the Fiendfyre was created caused a dull roar in his ears. He lassoed the flames, pulling tighter around the middle like a rope growing taut. Ink began to run from the corner of the pages from where Sirius could see. The closer the flames grew to the center of the diary the more ink began to pour down the sides of the pedestal. A scream erupted through the room over the roar of the fire and a plume of dark smoke rose from the crease in the diary, disappearing entirely when the flaming lasso tightened entirely.

The diary was charred when Dumbledore extinguished the flames, but the leather binding was still in one piece. The old man leaned down, resting his hands just above his knees and struggling to regain his control. It had been an impressive feat of magic to master the flames and command them to do as was requested. No doubt he would be quite exhausted after that.

Sirius himself was shivering despite the hot temperature of the room. It was more like a dry sauna in there now. His heart rate was high, and he was trying to keep a steady rhythm to his breathing. It had been both awe inspiring and terrifying.

()()()()

"Yeah, but you've been moping around for about a week now. Knock it off or I'm going to kick you."

Ginny's pissed off voice greeted Harry when he came through the Floo into the Burrow sitting room. He'd been invited over; an open invitation was essentially extended to him by Mrs. Weasley the first time he'd been here. But yesterday his girlfriend had asked him over to play some Quidditch with her and her brothers today, he was just not given a time frame. Nor had he remembered to ask before essentially kicking her out of the house.

He was still cringing over that. He shouldn't have asked her to leave. She would have stopped her ranting if he'd only asked. And now she sounded irritated in the other room.

"Leave off." Ron retorted, still sounding upset. He'd been in okay spirits on Christmas, Harry reflected, not knowing whether he was generally more excitable on Christmas day than he had been.

"No. You're pissing me off with your attitude, and mum is annoyed with you hiding up in your room the whole holiday."

"You don't understand."

"That's right, I don't. You've just been a complete downer for a week. I know I'd be gutted if Harry broke up with me, probably pissed to holy hell actually and planning how to make his death look like an accident, but Hermione didn't break up with you. She just said she wanted to take some time and think it over. Have you even been doing that?"

Ginny's voice was carrying through crystal clear from the other room and Harry had to chuckle to himself at her argument. He didn't doubt she'd find a way to make him pay dearly for breaking up with her, not that he had any plans of doing that. Even the thought of it left a hollow feeling in his chest.

He'd like to be able to help Ron out with this situation. As uncomfortable as it would be, he thought that he should maybe offer to be a sounding board of something for him.

"Shut up, Ginny." Ron complained. Smack. "Ow."

Smack. "Ow!"

The sounds of hitting and grunts of pain escalated. Chairs scraping across wooden floors and Harry finally saw the duo fall to the floor in his line of sight, tussling and shoving. He didn't know what to do, so he just stood there, witnessing. Intervening seemed like the wrong choice, but what if they got hurt? More, what if she got hurt.

Ginny pinged her head off the side of the stairs when Ron shoved her, Harry flinched at the noise. Unfazed she punched Ron in the face, hitting his cheek and Harry's jaw dropped open. They normally got along really well, now they were completely at each other's throats and being physically violent.

A door opened up the stairs and feet thundered down to the main area quickly. The twins appeared and went straight to their siblings pulling them apart. "Alright. What's he done now?" One of the twins asked at the same time as the other one, with the 'she' inflection aimed at Ron.

Both Ron and Ginny started talking over each other in response. Harry caught the words 'miserable' and 'annoying' and 'bitch'.

"Hey!" Harry cut in at the last one. "Don't call her that." He said angrily to Ron as he walked over to them.

"Harry!" All four of the Weasley's greeted him with smiles.

He was taken aback at how jovial they all seemed to be. Not two minutes ago they were fighting. "Uh. Hey." He dialed back his temper at Ron insulting Ginny like he had.

The door to the kitchen swung open and Mrs. Weasley came in with a basket. "Alright, if you're all just going to be sitting around." She started. "Ginny! What happened to your hair? Ron. Your lip is bleeding." She set down her basket of what appeared to be freshly killed chicken and put her hands on her hips to scold her children, then her eyes landed on Harry. "Oh!" She smiled. "Hello dear."

Harry smiled awkwardly back in greeting and the Weasleys, save for the Matriarch, broke out in chuckles.

"Right then." Mrs. Weasley cut through. "Fred, George, since you're staying the day you can go out and get more wood for the fireplace cut and piled by the back door. Ron, keep out of your room today understand? Go out and clean up the mess in the chicken coop." Ron groaned. "Ginny, laundry first. Towels and bed sheets. Properly." She enunciated the last word. "You can take Harry with you, but no flying or anything until it's done." She aimed her wand over at Ron and quickly healed up his cut lip with no more questions before turning back to dealing with the poultry.

The four kids all hopped to their feet and Ginny came towards Harry with a smile on her face and bright eyes taking his hand in hers and pulling him upstairs behind her.

"No closed doors." Mrs. Weasley called out as a reminder.

For someone that was just in a fight Ginny was happily skipping up the stairs. Her messy braid swinging behind her with each step. They bypassed her room and went straight to the top of the house, to Ron's room. He spent the trip up the stairs trying not to admire the way her bum moved from side to side in her snug jeans right in front of his face.

She spun around to face him once they were situated in the orange space of Ron's bedroom. "Hi." She grinned up at him and stepped in to wrap her arms around his waist.

"Hi." He smiled down at her and leaned down for a quick kiss before pulling back and hugging her closer. "So, was that just a day to day occurrence? You and Ron fighting like that?"

Ginny snorted. "Well, he has been extra annoying lately. But we haven't gotten into it like that for a few months. Think we were due a brawl."

His brow knit together. "That's so weird to me. You two get along so well."

"We do, and us fighting like that doesn't mean that we don't. He was annoying me, I was annoying him, things just went from there." She stated as though it was completely normal. "You saw how much it took for us to calm down." She shrugged and twisted a piece of his hair between her fingers gently. "Maybe it's a ginger thing."

Ginny pulled back from him and went over to Ron's bed and started pulling off the sheets. Harry went over and took the pillows, tugging off the pillowcases.

"What part of that did you arrive for?" Ginny asked while tugging the fitted sheet free from the last corner.

Harry grinned at her. "Sometime before you threatened to make my death look like an accident if I chucked you."

"And don't you forget it." She told him in a sultry voice with the sheets bundled into a ball and hugged in front of her.

"Not going to happen." He kissed her nose and picked up the towel on the back of Ron's desk chair and followed behind Ginny back down the stairs.

There was an add-a-room off the kitchen and Ginny showed him how to clean the laundry with magic. It was wicked faster than the muggle way. A quick dunk into a sudsy bucket, and quick spell and rotational movement with your wand, then string it up and hit it all with a drying charm.

He helped her through Ron's room, then the twin's room where they had to be very careful lifting the mattresses. Ginny swore to him that if there was some booby trap under their bed that hit either of them with something then he'd be witness to another Weasley Smack Down show.

Once they got to her room she asked about the Deed.

"I, um. I'm okay now." He started. "I'm sorry if you thought I was, like, sending you away or something." He offered. She made no response, just continued tugging her sheets off the bed. "I was sad about it for sure. Still am, but I wanted time to figure out what I wanted to do about it, without input from anyone else." He came up behind her and pressed himself against her back, kissing her neck. "No matter how much I appreciate that persons input." He said quietly.

Ginny leaned her head against his in response. Harry had the feeling of her contentment with his actions. She didn't seem angry over it, she hadn't yesterday either, not at him anyways. He hadn't yelled at her to get out or anything yesterday, but she'd been pacing and ranting about 'those people' and it wasn't helping him feel any less dejected about it. He'd tried asking her to head home early in the nicest way possible and felt awful doing it. She'd looked surprised at his asking her to leave, but hadn't argued against it.

"Did you come to any decisions?" She asked carefully.

His head was still buried against the crook of her neck when he shook it side to side. She smelled so good. It called up the scenario he'd woken up to for the second time yesterday and his body reacted. He let out a groan, not because she was so arousing but because he wished there was a less obvious way for his body to deal with that arousal.

She turned around and put her arms around his neck. "Not the ideal location or time right now." She teased.

Harry sighed. "I know. I just can't help it." He pulled back from her and went to her pillows. They too smelled like her. He cleared his throat. "Sirius and Remus had a few ideas for how I could deal with the Deed."

"Which one was the most amusing?" She grinned.

"Well, Remus actually said he could probably think of a spell to make the house disappear altogether one day while they were all out." They chuckled. "He was pretty elaborate about it actually. He wants to send them an invite to some showy posh due and then put the house under the Fidelus Charm, then when they got turned away from the posh due because of their fake invite they wouldn't be able to find their house."

"Oh!" She had tears of laughter forming in her eyes. "That is good! I'd want a front row seat to that! I'll bring the popcorn."

Harry was laughing too. "Yeah. That would be quite the sight." He got the pillows off and waited for her to grab the sheets. "But. I mean. They've been living there forever. If I just signed the Deed over to them then I could just make a clean break, you know? Not have to live with the guilt of having put them on the street."

Ginny sighed. "That is because you are a wonderful person." She kissed his cheek and they headed back down the stairs with their load. "You don't want vengeance at all?"

"Well." He reasoned. "If they were actually expecting some pay out for whatever they've spent on the house over the last fifteen years, **that** I don't think they deserve." He said as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"What's that dear?" Mrs. Weasley looked up from her chopping block as they passed through the kitchen.

"Actually." Ginny turned to Harry. "Mum's the right amount of vengeful. Want to talk it through with her a bit?"

Harry was surprised with the suggestion. His first reaction was to decline the offer, but there was something in the back of his mind saying it might be a good idea to get a mother's perspective. From Sirius and Remus, he knew what his dad would probably have to say about it all but getting Mrs. Weasley's opinion couldn't hurt. "If you don't mind?" He asked, feeling a little bashful about it.

"Of course not dear." She wiped her hands on her apron and Ginny took the pillow cases and such out of Harry's hand, leaving for the add-a-room, while her mum took two cups from the cupboard, filling them up with tea and handing him one and they both took a seat at the table.

"Well." Harry started, telling her about his visit to Gringotts and finding out about his family vaults and the Deed. Then he told her about how his relatives had been less than kind to him over the years, basically ignoring the stipulations in the Deed and only keeping a roof over his head. Then he offered up the option he was leaning towards.

He'd been alternating between staring out the window between the door to the add-a-room and down at his cup. Once he was done, he looked up at her face and saw her sad smile. She'd said nothing during his diatribe. He may have only been telling her point of fact and it only took a few minutes to get it all out, but there hadn't been any gasps or growls from her.

She stood up and came around to him, leaning down to give a loving kiss to his forehead. "Your mother would be so proud of you."

Harry was struck by that. The maternal kiss to the forehead had felt nice, but the comment about his mum was not expected.

"She'd also want to blast her sister across the Chanel." She patted his cheek and pulled away, moving back to her cutting board. After a sniffle she picked up her knife and resumed cutting up the vegetables. "I think you are a very sweet boy who's been dealt a bad hand in life. But you have made the most of it, finding joy where you can." His brow furrowed. "And I think simply giving them the house, no extra, like you say. It would stop you feeling any kind of guilt down the line." She scrapped the chopping's into a pot on the stove. "You don't need that kind of stress keeping you up at night. It'll make you old before your time."

Harry felt a warmth of vindication. Sirius, Remus and Ginny might want vengeance, he just wanted the Dursley's out of his life. This was the fairest way to do that.

He stood up and moved his cup to the sink. "Thank you." He said honestly.

"Any time." She told him sweetly.

Ginny came back into the kitchen with her clean sheets with Ron close behind her, smelling quite ripe from cleaning out the chicken coop.

Harry followed the two of them up the stairs, Ron continued on to the bathroom for a shower, Harry and Ginny went into her room to put the sheets back on the bed. "Thanks for suggesting that."

"You feel better about it now?" She asked agreeably.

"Yeah. I'm just going to give them the house." He said decidedly. "I still have two others anyways, and I certainly don't want the Privet house for myself." He said tucking her pillow into the case while she tugged on the fitted sheet.

"You are too nice." She shook her head, but there was still an approving look in her eyes when she looked up at him. "Alright." She stood and tossed the top sheet and blanket on. "Just one more room and then we can go for a fly if you'd like."

"Err. I feel kind of weird about going into your parents' room. Maybe I should just wait here?" He hadn't had an issue with Ron or the twin's room, but her parent's room seemed like an out of bounds area.

Ginny walked around him and headed for the door across the hall. "Don't be silly. It's no different than all the other rooms you've helped me with. What do you think is going to happen?"

"It just feels like I'm overstepping my welcome or whatever." He said awkwardly.

She rolled her eyes at him and took his hand, pulling him into her parents' bedroom behind her. "There's nothing in here that you shouldn't see."

There really wasn't much more to the master bedroom than there was to any of the other rooms. It was just larger, and the bed was centered against the wall. Their closet was larger, and they had a tiny ensuite with a toilet and a sink to themselves. It felt really cozy.

Ginny went straight for the bed and tossed the pillows at him. He started pulling the cases off and looked at the photos on the walls of all the Weasley kids at different ages. This was his first time in any master bedroom. His Aunt and Uncle made it very clear that he wasn't to enter their bedroom, even Dudley's bedroom was off limits to him, but his door had been regularly left open, whereas the Master bedroom door was always closed. Even while doing the tour of Grimmauld Place, Sirius had simply indicated to the door of the master bedroom rather than showing him the inside.

"Is this you?" Harry grinned at the baby photo of a tiny little thing with a pink dress and a bow in her hair. She was staring wide eyed at the camera, blinking with a wonderous look on her face.

"No. That was Percy." Ginny lied. "He was a cross dresser from an early age, he just hides it better now." Her snicker at the end made that all the less convincing.

He took a step back and took in all the baby photo's. There were eight of them, one probably being Kenneth. It was such a large family. Seeing them all there brought up something deep inside him that he hadn't even realized about himself.

He wanted to have a wall full of his own family one day, just like this. He could picture a wall full of a mix of messy black mop hair and delicate ginger babies and one's of them all playing with their cousins at different stages in life as well. It warmed him to fantasize about it.

"Come on, we're almost done." His potential future wife encouraged as she went back into the hallway with her armload of sheets.

When they were back in the laundry room, he brought up Ron. "So, he's still really down about it, eh?"

"Yes." She sighed. "And unfortunately, my sympathy for him has deteriorated drastically with every passing day."

"Right. Well, I thought I might lend my own sympathetic ear." He told her. "See if maybe he could use a sounding board that won't punch him for being annoying."

"We'll see how much self-control you have after ten minutes." Ginny scoffed. "Alright. You want to go up now? He's probably done in the shower and was told not to hide up there all day, but I'll let mum know what's going on."

"Thanks." He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek before heading back through the kitchen and up the stairs.

"Hey Ron?" He knocked on the door to his room.

It swung open inward. Ron was clean and dressed running a towel through his wet hair. "Hey mate."

"Hey. Uh, so. I wondered. If you... needed to talk." He said awkwardly.

Ron stopped trying to dry his hair and stared at Harry with a confused look on his face. Harry was feeling weirder about it with every passing second and staring back at Ron with a growing blush over how much of a girl he'd sounded like, well, it wasn't making it any less awkward.

"What?" Ron asked finally.

Harry started laughing at himself. "Uh. Yeah. That sounded really stupid. But what I meant was." What the hell did he mean? "Look. I know you and I don't really chat about anything but Quidditch. But I know you're upset about Hermione and I thought you might like it if someone lent an ear." He said quickly.

"That's really weird mate." Ron stated.

Harry leaned against the door jam and hit his forehead against it gently. "I know. That sounded so stupid." He looked back over at Ron. "You ever get a decision in your head and then when you give it a go, you don't know how the first part is supposed to happen?" At Ron's look of concern for Harry he rolled his eyes. "Look. You want to talk about Hermione, or not?"

Ron chuckled at him. "Yeah, alright. Come on in." He stepped back into his room and tossed his towel at his hamper. "Ginny didn't send you up here, did she?"

Harry snorted. "No. She seemed to question my judgement as well."

"Why would you want to hear about it anyway?" He asked. "I mean. Hermione's been your friend for years, wouldn't you be taking her side."

"She wouldn't be like that." Harry assured. "If you guys do call it quits then she would still want to be friends, and even if you can't manage that because it's too weird then she still wouldn't stop me from being friends with you."

"Yeah." Ron sighed. "Because she's so great." He sat back on his bed and nodded over to his desk. "I started making that pro/con list."

Harry went over to the desk and saw the list.

**Should we break-up**

**Pro-** _Could salvage a friendship now. Could tell her my honest opinion. Less time in library. Other girls_  
**Con-** _I'll miss her_

Harry frowned at the only con. He looked back up at Ron. "Other girls?" He asked.

Ron blushed. "Well, I mean there are a lot of pretty girls at school. Hermione was the first one I saw, and I was attracted, am attracted to her." He corrected. "But... I mean. How do I know if she's it for me?"

"You'd know." Harry said automatically, then blushed furiously. "I. I mean. Uh." He cleared his throat. Just because he couldn't possibly imagine being in love with someone other than Ginny doesn't mean he was the voice of experience on the subject. "What I meant to say was, you probably wouldn't be thinking of other girls if you thought Hermione was 'the one'."

Ron smirked at him and raised a single eyebrow.

Harry swallowed his embarrassment. "Well, you did welcome me to the family when we first met." He said smugly.

Ron barked out a laugh. "Yeah. I guess I only have myself to blame." He grinned. "I'm glad you and Ginny are working out so well. And honestly, I'm a little jealous. You guys are so close and sappy, but also cool to hang out with, you know." He sighed and rested his head back on the wall. "I think we should break up." He sadly admitted. "If she's having doubts now, then I don't want to push and have her hate me or something. And really, I think we could be good friends."

"You sure you're okay with that?"

"Yeah. I mean, you guys have been friends for ages and it's not weird."

That had Harry confused. He'd never thought of her as anything other than a friend. Nor had Neville to his knowledge.

"It'll probably hurt if she finds someone else though."

"Well. Maybe you'll find someone else too." Harry offered. "Anyone in particular you might have in mind?" Ron blushed at that. There was definitely someone that had caught his eye. "Well, go on? Who is she?"

"Eh. it's not going to happen. It's just someone that I couldn't help looking at a few times." He looked out the window and chewed the corner of his mouth. "I mean. There's. There's a house rivalry." He offered up hesitantly.

"You mean she's a Slytherin?" Harry asked with a chuckle. "Which one? In our year?" He thought through all the girls in their year from that house at Ron's nearly imperceptible nod.

Pansy Parkinson was the loudest of the bunch. She was alright to look at, but her prissy attitude was a major put off. Plus she was always hanging off Malfoy's every word as well, so that was some questionable decision making there. Millicent Bulstrode wasn't the best looking girl, nor the brightest. Honestly Harry didn't know her very well, maybe she had some redeeming qualities, but from what he recalled from gossip she was keen on Goyle.

Daphne Greengrass was a pretty girl, seemed to have a rather logical sense of intelligence, and she wasn't a giggler.

"Daphne?" He guessed. From Ron's bashful reaction he could tell he'd hit the nail on the head there. "She seems alright." He offered. "Don't really know much about her. We've never been seated close to each other in classes, and I can't remember a time when she was outright prejudiced against... you know."

"Yeah?" He asked hopefully. "I mean. I've just sort of noticed her. She's got really nice eyes, and seems to be pretty laid back, for a Slytherin."

"Nothing wrong with her being in Slytherin. I mean, I know they all come off as sort of. I dunno, 'better than', but that doesn't mean they're all like that." Harry offered his opinion. "You know, the sorting hat told me I'd do well in Slytherin. I only went to Gryffindor because I asked to be put there."

"Really?" Ron asked curiously. "I didn't really give the Sorting Hat a chance to say anything. It just went on my head and said 'Another Weasley' before I thought 'Gryffindor'." He looked far-off. "Wonder what it would have made of my head if I had let it have a look?"

"Where do you figure?" Harry wondered. Ron was a pretty brawny guy. Smart enough, but nowhere near top of the class. "Gryffindor is probably where it would have put you anyways." He thought aloud.

"Yeah." He shrugged. "Not smart enough for Ravenclaw, not stealth enough for Slytherin, and too brash for Hufflepuff."

Ron looked like he was feeling better about his decision. He had another girl in mind, so he couldn't have been too invested in his relationship with Hermione. Sure, Harry had noticed if other girls were pretty, but none of the other girls had ever lit up a room for him like his Ginny. He was relieved really. Ron had become a pretty good friend, if he and Hermione could still spend time together and not have any animosity then that would be a load off his mind. "Any idea who Neville's been seeing?" He asked suddenly.

"He hasn't even told you?" Ron asked surprised.

Harry shook his head.

"Why would he want to hide it? Think he's embarrassed?"

"I've no idea." Harry shrugged.

"I was going to send him an owl and see if he wanted to come over."

"Really?" Harry perked up. "That's be fun. I bet he'd love your orchard." He certainly did.

**AN-On the Dursley front. You know that Harry wouldn't follow through with a vindictive act like kicking them out of their home. No arguments, you totally know he wouldn't. The guilt of making them homeless would weigh on him. **

**They will still get theirs, just wait and see what happens.**


	14. Taking Care of Business

Sirius was back at Grimmauld Place by the time Harry got back just before five. He'd had fun flying around the Burrow with Ginny, Ron and the twins. The twins would have been phenomenal beaters, but they did a pretty good job of trying to trip up Ginny and her excellent chasing abilities.

After lunch Ginny had taken him down to Ottery St. Catchpole and they wandered around the village. She'd been right about her description, it did look like it came straight out of a Christmas card. There were kids tobogganing down the hills and skating on frozen ponds, building snowmen. He and Ginny built their own snowman and borrowed a sled from a kid to go down the hill themselves a few times.

He was so glad he'd had the forethought to bring along some Muggle money just in case since she _had_ mentioned wanting to take him to the village before. Once their hands were completely frozen the money had come in handy when they holed up in a cafe for a hot chocolate to warm up.

It had been just an all-around lovely time.

"You look like you got some fresh air." Sirius commented and brushed the back of his fingers over his own cheek to indicate that Harry had gotten some color there.

"Yeah." He smiled. "The Burrow really is fantastic. We played Quidditch and Ginny and I went into the village and played with some kids. It was great!"

Of course, Sirius knew all about how great the Burrow life was. Even though Grimmauld didn't seem as horrible as he'd made it out to be, there was a wistful look about his face, one of longing to be back there.

"So." Harry sat down beside him on the couch. "How was it with Dumbledore? Did you hear back from the Goblin's yet?"

Sirius shook his head 'no'. "I watched him destroy the Diary. Let me tell you, there was most certainly a something in it. He used Fiendfyre, and it actually screamed." His eyes glazed over at the memory.

"The Diary screamed." Harry repeated in awe. "That's so weird."

"It was entirely terrifying, not going to lie." He heaved a great sigh. "But now we know it can be done. Albus is trying to find some way that we could possibly remove the piece of soul from the locket into something that isn't a 'priceless relic'." He used finger quotes. "If I had it my way, I'd take you there tomorrow to destroy the thing." Sirius paused. "And, now I know who Tom Riddle is. It's Voldemort's real name."

"Oh." Harry had wondered. It rather made sense that he'd use his own Diary rather than someone else's. Hermione and Ginny had been laughing about the thought of a child with the name Voldemort. He'd wondered then what his name had really been. Mike and John weren't particularly terrifying. Tom certainly wasn't either. "Do we know how many he might have made now? Did taking care of the Diary somehow let you know?"

Sirius shook his head. "No. But he did show me a memory." He cringed. "And we have a favor to ask of you."

Harry's eyebrows went up. "Okay." He was eager to help as much as he could.

"When I was in school, I had a Potions Professor named Horace Slughorn. He was always cultivating relationships with people who had potential to really be prominent in our world; Quidditch players, Politicians, wealthy people. Anyone who he could claim association with and seem impressive and what not."

"Okay." Harry said slowly, not sure how this related to him doing a favor.

"Your mum was one of his favorite students when I was at school, and you and I have a certain amount of notoriety behind our names." He led in. "This professor was also the same one that Tom Riddle had."

Harry sat up straight.

"Yes. I saw a memory today of a young Tom Riddle asking him about Horcruxes. The memory had been tampered with though."

"I don't understand." Harry cut in. "How did you 'see a memory'?"

"There is something called a Pensive. It allows you to view someone's memory, relive it in a sense. As I understand it, they are usually straight forward, but this one was altered. Slughorn was hiding what he'd actually said to Tom Riddle. After the kid asked him about them there was this fog and Slughorn was yelling that he didn't know anything about them, but it was clearly a cover up. Now Albus thinks that if you and I go and talk to him, he'll offer up the actual memory."

Harry stared at him processing that. A Pensive sounded like it could be pretty neat. He could relive all the highlights of his life? A winning Quidditch game, seeing Hogwarts for the first time. Watching what he did with Ginny yesterday sounded particularly appealing. Damn his brain for going there, but that would have been way better than looking at some of Seamus' magazines.

He dug his nail into one of his finger pads to cool his hormones. "So, because you are the first person to escape Azkaban, and I'm the first to survive the killing curse he thinks that your old professor will give us the memory? But, wouldn't he be rather old now? Would he even remember it properly?"

Sirius huffed a laugh. "Oh, he'll remember for sure. People don't forget things like that." He dug in his pocket and pulled out a scrap of parchment. "I have his address. I was going to write him and see if he'd be interested in going out for tea or something. I'd have to use your name, and I was going to make up a story about you wanting to hear about your mum." He asked as though it pained him.

"Oh." He paused. "Well. I mean, I wouldn't actually mind that. It might be nice to hear some stories about her anyways."

"You're sure?" He double checked.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's fine. Whatever helps." He said honestly.

"Alright then." He went to the writing desk in the corner of the room and pulled out some parchment. "Is Hedwig available?"

"She was out hunting all night. She's probably still sleeping in my room." Harry leaned back on the couch. It really didn't bug him that this Slughorn guy might only want to meet him because of the notoriety behind his name, but why that would mean that he'd give up this memory of the conversation with Tom Riddle, he didn't quite understand. Couldn't they just tell him that the Horcruxes were made and then, if he was any kind of a decent bloke, he'd give the accurate memory?

He hoped they wouldn't have to visit with him tomorrow. Neville was going to go over to the Burrow tomorrow. Ron sent him an owl and Harry was going to go over too and they were all going to hang out. Ginny said Kenneth was going to be there tomorrow too while Charlie was out doing some personal errands. It sounded like she had a big day of building snow forts lined up to occupy her nephew. Building snow forts sounded like something Ron, Neville and he could get in on.

"What's the smile?" Sirius asked from the desk looking back at him.

"I just had a really nice day. I was going to go over there again tomorrow. Neville will be visiting, and Kenneth."

"Sounds fun. I can go check on Remus then." He sealed the letter and handed it to Harry. "Mind coming back down after? I have some other stuff I wanted to talk to you about."

Harry nodded and headed up to his room. Hedwig was sleeping, he cooed at her until she awoke and gave her the letter and the address with some owl treats and she took off. He went back downstairs, and Sirius had a scotch in his hand.

"That a sign of an uncomfortable conversation ahead of us?" He joked, only half serious about it.

"Eh, awkward for sure." Sirius answered, holding up his glass to observe the contents as though judging if he'd poured enough.

Harry paused mid stride. "That mean I can have one too?" He tried.

Sirius stared at him for a long moment, considering. "Yeah. Try the firewhiskey though. The scotch tastes awful the first time."

Harry poured only an ounce of firewhiskey for himself. It was strong stuff. Then he settled in on the couch again. "So?" He prompted.

"Right. So, you know I'm your Godfather, and I'm working to officially adopt you, so I'd be your parent of sorts." He started. "And with that comes some certain responsibilities that James would have expected me to take care of. One of which is the one that I want to talk to you about, and it's going to be uncomfortable for the both of us. You are probably too old for it now, but. I. It has to be said. And I want you to feel comfortable talking to me about, you know. Anything." He rambled and gave Harry a look like he had been meant to follow all that.

"Huh?" He was confused. What responsibility?

Sirius sighed. "That made no sense did it?" He took another sip of his scotch and then blurted it out. "Are you having sex with Ginny?" He held up a hand. "Uh. Let me rephrase that. Um. Are you having sex? Let's pretend I don't know who with, if you are."

Harry's mouth hung open. His first reaction was to say that it was none of his business, but then. Was he going to try and give him the sex talk? He said something about being the 'parent'. It was a dad's job to give the sex talk to his son, wasn't it? He'd said it would be awkward. And Harry didn't want to talk about this with Neville or Hermione, he certainly wasn't going to be discussing it with Ron. And so, with a nervous inhale he decided to be honest.

"Yes." He blushed and his hand shook.

Sirius nodded. "Okay." he swallowed. "And, uh, has it been going on for a while? Have you been... cautious?"

"She's been on the potion for a few months, but we've been. It was." He coughed and took another sip of his drink. "It's been a week now since our first..."

"I see." He shifted around on his cushion. "And you two talked about it?"

Harry nodded. "And I made sure that she was okay with everything. Like, every new thing that we. Um. Tried. Like, making sure she didn't feel pressured or anything."

He was nodding. "Good. Good. And uh, were you able to." He tilted his head. "Did both of you wind up with the same reactions?" Harry snorted at the phrasing. Sirius chuckled then too. "Alright, no more beating around the bush. Did you get her to orgasm?"

Harry felt his face heating up, but if Sirius could plow through this, then he could manage too. "Not the first time."

"That's completely normal."

"I've heard. I nearly got her the second time, but then I had to. I used my mouth on her." He didn't know if he was oversharing.

Sirius sagged with relief. "Oh good. So, I don't have to talk you through that one." He smiled. "And you guys had done a build up to all this? Touched each other before and all?" Harry nodded. "And she was your first?"

"She was my first everything. I hadn't even kissed a girl before."

"Really? Any particular reason why not?"

That question would have embarrassed him more than the sex talk if he'd been asked at the start of the school year. But now with how great his first kiss had been he was glad she'd been his first. "No one else had caught my interest like her. I had a thing for a girl last year, but she had a boyfriend. It was only a small crush, nothing like what I felt for... her when I first saw her." He'd almost said Ginny's name, but stopped himself for both of their comfort.

"Must say, when Remus told me the two of you were together, I was over the moon." He looked back down at his glass with contention. "So, any questions then? You know about girls' cycles and all that?"

"Yeah. I figured that one out. Think I'm good. She's good at telling me what she likes." He blushed and took another drink. The firewhiskey had been a very good call.

Sirius made a face at the last comment. That hadn't been something he wanted to know about her.

()()()

It was a Saturday morning that the Goblin's had finalized the detailed inventory of possessions in the Black vault. It was a scroll seven feet long and with tiny printing. Harry let the owl into the kitchen while the two of them were sipping coffee and Sirius untied the scroll and let it roll out onto the ground dramatically.

"That's a lot of things in your vault." Harry took a cursory look at the contents from where he stood beside it, looking down from where he stood. It was a daunting number of items. No wonder Sirius and Remus couldn't get through it all. The scroll that he'd received for the Potter vault had been two feet at the most, but some of it had been listed as 'trunk' or 'wardrobe', so he still didn't know the full contents.

Sirius sighed and looked at the daunting list. "I suppose I should try and organize this all into different categories."

"Dumbledore must have some idea what the other objects might be, right?"

"Who knows with that man. He might have a list of potential contenders, but he has yet to share that information with me. He just said that it would most likely be some all-important item, like how the locket belonged to Slytherin."

"Did Slytherin have any other items that he was known for?"

"Not that I was aware of. All the Hogwarts founders had something though. Gryffindor had a sword, Hufflepuff had a cup, and Ravenclaw had a... tiara or something." He shuffled the paper down in his hands looking at more of the items. "I'll need a few pages of paper to sort this into." He started rolling the paper up.

"I can help if you like. It's still early, Neville won't be at the Burrow until around lunch."

"Sure. Let's move this into the dining room though. There's more table space there." He picked up his coffee and he and Harry moved into the back room. "Kreacher" he called.

CRACK

"Yes, Master."

"We will need a stack of paper and pencils." He ordered and the elf disappeared, returning only a moment later with the supplies. Sirius put the list on the table. "We'll split it in half in a moment. Let's figure out some different categories."

"It probably won't be any of the coins." Harry pointed out.

"No, nor the furniture." Sirius agreed. "Alright, so; Clothing, Jewelry, Books, Weaponry, Made of Gold, Made of Silver, Goblin Made." He started listing off and writing the titles at the top of separate pages. "I'm going to duplicate this list twice so we can scratch off as we go." He waved his wand two more seven feet parchments populated on the table. Sirius folded them in half and handed one to Harry. "You do the bottom of the page, I'll to the top."

Harry looked at the three and half feet in his hand. "Why'd you duplicate it twice then?"

Sirius shrugged. "Additional back up. And I'll have Remus double check it all. Add a section for 'Gems'." He said as he came across a singular gem.

Harry took his list to the other side of the table from Sirius and they worked quietly on separating everything. He had to add a section for Miscellaneous when he found there were several ornate urn's holding generations old Black relatives and stone figurines from the Ming dynasty.

"Um." Sirius called Harry's attention. His finger was on the list nearing the bottom of his half. "This says Chalice- Badger engravement."

Harry flipped his over to where Sirius would have been looking at. "Badger as in Hufflepuff?" He asked astounded. "You think?"

"I think... maybe?" His head was tilted, still looking at the parchment unsure. "It would certainly be worth a look."

"Uh. So, you, Remus and the House Elves were down there for a while and didn't come across it. And this list doesn't say where in the vault this might be." Harry pointed out delicately.

"Oh, buggering fuck." Sirius sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Yeah. We'll still need to scour the vault again to find this." He looked up at Harry with tired eyes. He closed his eyes to collect himself for a moment. "We should probably keep categorizing though, we're nearly done, and this might be a coincidence."

Harry held back his amusement with Sirius' reaction. At least if nothing else looked like it had the potential, or stood out to either he, Remus or Dumbledore, then they knew what they were looking for.

Both were near the end of their parchment anyways, and it only took another five minutes. Harry added his to Sirius' collection and Sirius took a look over what he'd written. "Well, I don't see anything that stands out to me on here."

"Not even the collection of bones?" Harry asked humorously.

Sirius cringed. "I don't want to think too hard about that. For all I know my cousin Bellatrix may have taken them from each of her victims as a 'trophy'."

Harry felt a shiver pass through him at that prospect. "I read a few stories about what she'd done. Neville had a hard time with those one's." He recalled the look on his friends face when the Daily Prophet with his parents' story was plastered all over the front page, above the fold.

Neville had told him before that his mum and dad were on the Permanent Spell Damage Ward in St. Mungo's, but not that they were there because of being subjected to the Cruciatus Curse for a prolonged period by Bellatrix Lestrange. Neville had spent some more time than usual in the greenhouses after that.

"I heard her ranting every now and then when I was locked up." Sirius admitted. "She still knew that Voldemort wasn't dead. I don't know if she knew about the Horcruxes or if she was just guessing or hoping. At the time I assumed she was a ranting lunatic." He said sadly. "Hind sight, eh?"

"What's next?" Harry asked. "Are you going to see if the others find anything in the lists, or just go straight to Gringotts? One of the Goblin's might be able to tell you where the Chalice is."

He gave him a pondering look. "Kreacher, Dobby." He called.

CRACK. CRACK

"Yes, Master."

"Dobby is here sir."

"Can either of you feel it when you are in proximity to these evil items?" Sirius asked them.

"Kreacher could not wear the locket. It would make one very angry." Kreacher told them. "It would corrupt the feelings."

"The Diary would make you withdraw into yourself, Master." Dobby said. "One would be compelled to write in it."

"Is that why Ginny would have written in it?" Harry asked suddenly.

Dobby shook his head. "It is not all at once. It is prolonged contact."

"Oh." Harry's shoulders sagged. It just had been her split-second decision and impulse control that made her write in the Diary. He's hoped for a moment there it was the compulsion charm or whatever, but he had been touching it longer than she and he hadn't wanted to write in it.

Sirius patted him on the shoulder in a conciliatory gesture. "Don't worry about it, Pup. She didn't get hurt." He piled the papers together to straighten them out.

"Yeah." Harry conceded. It had just been a lapse in judgement, and everyone was fine.

()()()

He knocked on the door to Amelia's flat and took a moment to observe the little touches she added to the exterior of her door. This wasn't the swankiest of London apartment complexes, and it wasn't a strictly magical building either. He wouldn't have considered hanging a wreath outside his door or having a door mat in the corridor if it was his place, but to each their own. Maybe she thought it was something that Muggles did?

He heard her on the other side of the door shuffling closer and made sure he was giving her the most charming of smiles through her peep hole. He could imagine the look she was giving him through the door. Like she was both amused and rolling her eyes at him.

The bolt turned and he was let in. "Hello, love. Had a nice Christmas?" He greeted her.

She did not look amused, nor was she rolling her eyes at him, she also wasn't yet dressed for the day. Still wearing a pale purple bath robe, it was thin enough that it clung to the pajama's underneath. She looked a little less vibrant than usual without her make-up on, but he still thought she looked wonderful and rested with her hair lanky and slightly ruffled and a mixture of uncertainty and embarrassment at her state of composure.

"I wasn't expecting you." She said, turning back down the hallway to her kitchen. "Coffee?" She called out behind her.

He hadn't seen her for a week and a half and had been rather hoping she'd be more excited to see him. Perhaps wantonly throw herself at him and demand he satisfy her. This was okay too; he was up for a challenge.

"Coffee would be nice." He replied and kicked off his boots, padding his way down to her sitting room.

"Here you are." She held out a mug to him. "I'll be back in a moment." She told him quickly and turned away from him, heading to her bedroom.

His brow furrowed at that. She wasn't going to get changed what she? Was she being shy? He put his mug down on the coffee table and followed her into her room. He wasn't going to let her think he didn't find her attractive in her current state. Her door to the bedroom wasn't completely closed, so he nudged it open.

"Sirius, I was going to make myself somewhat presentable." She complained. She'd untied the sash on her robe and was half way through taking it off. He could see her pert nipples through the well-worn cloth of what was presumably her favorite Saturday lounge around bed clothes.

He stepped up beside her. "Let me help you with that." He purred. He pulled her robe down her arms. She had goosebumps again, that was really her only tell that he was arousing her; other than... He stepped behind her and lowered his mouth to her neck, kissing, licking and sucking as she swayed slightly, her breath hitching.

His hands went to her hips, fingers running along the elastic of her bottoms. On his third pass along the waistline he dipped both hands into them. One hand went to massage the inside of her thigh, the other to massage her folds. She was only slightly wet; he could fix that.

She let out a moan. "I'm. I wasn't expecting." Her head leaned to the side to allow him more access to her neck and she stepped back, closer to him so his hands would require less reach.

"I've missed you." He kissed up her jaw line to nip at her earlobe. "Have you missed me?" Her bum rocked back against his erection. "I'll take that as a yes." She was getting properly wet now. It was so warm and inviting.

She sucked in a breath and went to pull away from him. "I'm a mess right now. I've. I wasn't expecting."

He pulled her back against him. "I don't care." She hadn't groomed for him, that's what she meant. He could feel the course hair against his one wrist and on the fingers of his wandering hand, but it didn't concern him. She had been completely manicured every time they'd been together, done the whole push-up bra bit and tasteful make-up. He was equally as turned on with her as she was right then as he had been. She actually tasted better now with out her perfume dabbed on her neck. "Could do you like this." He thrust against her. "Bend you over the bed?"

She whimpered. They hadn't gotten too acrobatic in their ventures as this was still rather new, but he felt like a horny teenager right now, and a vantage point like the one he'd have if she was bent over while he fucked her was beyond appealing. It had been a decade and a half of celibacy before she'd come along. A week with out her had been too much.

"Yes?" He walked her forward toward her queen-sized mattress slowly, moving each of her legs forward with a gentle nudge from one of his own. His wandering hand slid up her front to massage her breast and twist one of her pointed nipples between his thumb and forefinger. He felt her clench around the finger he had slid inside her at that.

She liked it.

He removed his hand from her shirt and used it to undo the button on his jeans, shoving both they and his pants down just enough for his erection to spring free. Amelia hadn't said anything but took it upon herself to lean forward and brace her hands on the mattress waggling that lovely ass at him just enticingly enough. He pulled down her bottoms, she hadn't been wearing any knickers and his view was unhindered; her dark pink folds glistening in wait.

He circled the head of his dick around against her center and she rocked back slightly, covering his tip in her wet. Then he plowed into her.

The loud groan that emanated from her mouth was a mixture of pleasure and pain. Bent at this angle it could easily be both painful and a mind shattering amount of fantastic. He thrust a few times, not as deep and not as fast as he wanted to while she adjusted her position.

She was on her tip-toes when he first entered. He moved forward with her as she climbed onto the mattress on her knees to compensate for the height difference and make it more comfortable for her, all the while still moving in and out of her. Her groan of satisfaction with the new position was all the go ahead he needed.

Fucking her into the mattress like this was going to set him off quickly. On a whim he let go of her hip and pulled his wand out of his back pocket. Whispering a spell to set the tip vibrating he leaned forward and pressed the length of it against her lower belly, the tip vibrating right against her clit.

"OH FUCK!" She cried.

"Yeah. Hold that there darling." He growled in lust and resumed thrusting frantically in time with her cries.

Watching himself disappearing inside her and feeling the slight vibration was putting him over the edge.

He tried to hold back a little longer for her, but it was a lost cause. He let off a long drawn out groan as he kept shooting off inside her. It was such a satisfying orgasm. If he stopped now, he would have been able to bask in it, however she wasn't there, and he wasn't soft yet.

He kept up with determination. His jaw set and he tried to use all his waning energy to keep up a steady rhythm. There was about thirty seconds left before he was entirely useless from the waist down. He was sliding inside her with great ease now that his own fluids had mixed with her own. Sirius concentrated on the erotic sight before him, willing himself to stay hard but it was a losing battle.

Finally!

She clenched around him and let out her victorious groan. He stopped thrusting and ground into her as she rode it out, wanting nothing more than to fall on the bed beside her, banish his clothes and have a nice nap.

Amelia removed his wand and placed it on the bed beside her as she sagged down closer to the mattress.

He picked up the wand and cleaned up the result of their coupling and tucked himself back into his pants, zipping up his jeans and pulling her bottoms over her lovely bum, then lay down beside her to catch his breath.

He could really do with getting in better shape. That wouldn't have taken so much out of him fifteen years ago.

()

He didn't know how long he'd fallen asleep for. Couldn't have been too long considering the amount of light coming in through the window and illuminating his eye lids. It wasn't enough though, and yet he'd come here for more than just a primitive and satisfying shag so he reluctantly got up.

His feet were still on the ground and his clothes all on. Looking over to his side where Amelia had been, he saw nothing but the rumpled sheets she'd been on.

With a wipe of his hand down his face he pulled himself up into the sitting position. He'd only been here once before, but it had been dark, and he'd left before the sun was properly shining in the morning, so he didn't have a chance to take in the room properly.

For someone so polished and no-bullshit, she was a bit of a slob. There were clothes littering the perimeter of the floor and surfaces completely cluttered with various items; receipts, bracelets, nail polish and the like. And a mirror was on the floor leaning back against the wall with a half circle of cosmetic products lain out in front of it. She must have sat there to put on her war paint in the morning.

He was pretty sure it didn't look like this last time, no matter how dark it was some of this would have stood out.

He rubbed his eyes and yawned, giving a stretch over his head. Standing up, he gave a lean this way and that to work out some of the kinks in his back and re-align his spine before heading back out to the main area.

"Hello." Amelia smirked up at him from her spot on the couch. She had a cup of coffee in one hand and a book in the other.

"How long was I out for?" He glanced around at the walls for a clock. He could have pulled out his wand and cast a Tempus charm, but that was all the way in his back pocket.

"Only about a half hour." She picked up her own wand from the coffee table and cast a spell at his forgotten cup of coffee. Steam came out of the life-giving liquid and he picked it up with a grateful noise and took up in the cushion opposite hers on the couch.

He took a sip and looked over at her properly. She'd changed and added a bit of color to her cheeks. He'd thought he made it clear he didn't need all that to find her appealing, not that he didn't appreciate the effort she put into her appearance, but it wasn't necessary. She'd been having a lazy day around her flat and he'd intruded, they weren't about to go out on the town.

"How was your Christmas?" Sirius asked as his first sip warmed its way down into his belly.

"Traditional." She replied. "Went to my parents where the rest of the family was. Spent time with my niece at the spa the day after, now it is already a distant memory after working yesterday." She rested her head back on the cushion contently.

"Ah, yes. I've heard of this 'work' business you speak of." He nodded with a smirk. "Dreadful, is it not."

"I think you will find that it gives a lot of the general public both a purpose and a roof over their heads." The corner of her mouth was twitching up and her eyes had just the subtlest bit more of a twinkle to them.

"Hmm. Purpose you say?" He teased. He'd wondered what to do to fill his days, but there wasn't a particular occupation that he was gravitating towards. Professional lay about was getting a little old. Horcrux Hunter was a prospect on the horizon though.

His next stop was to go and see Albus with his list after checking in on Remus, but first he wanted to ask a favor of his lovely lady.

"I hate to potentially make you work on the weekend, but any idea." He set down his coffee and pulled out the sheaf of adoption papers. "Who I should contact to get this expedited?" He held the paperwork out for her.

She sighed regretfully and took the papers from him, reading through quickly. "Of course, you got Dumbledore to sign off on this." She smiled. "Well, normally I would say Imelda Hopkirk, she's an Executive Assistant for a few higher ups, but most of them are at odds with him and his backing could potentially slow down the process." She squinted in thought and worried her lips going through the mental list of potential paper pushers. "Harley Gordon." She settled on with a nod. "She's with Wizengamot Administration Services through my Department. That'll get the ball rolling quick enough." She handed it back to him.

"She can be trusted to keep this quiet?" He wanted assurances. If the Daily Prophet caught wind of him trying to adopt Harry, then there would be speculation as to why, at his age, Sirius would bother with adoption. He could just picture the headline; Wrongly Convicted Azkaban Escapee to Adopt Boy-Who-Lived.

Amelia reached over and stroked his beard. "I'd trust her to keep it quiet even if her job wasn't on the line."

Sirius placed a kiss to her palm. "Who would she take it to for final authorization?" He wanted to make sure that the channels this Harley Gordon had to go through weren't going to spill as well.

Color rose in Amelia's cheeks and she cleared her throat. "That would be me." She admitted.

"You?" He asked astounded. "You could sign off on this? Make it legal?"

"Yes." She picked her cup back up. "But." She prefaced. "You have to go through the proper procedure, or it will look like favoritism."

"What if I offer to make you cum again? Right now?" He waggled his eyebrows at her and tried to pull off his most charming of smiles.

"You think I'm that easy to corrupt?" She asked, knowing full well that he was just teasing. Her foot went to his crotch.

Sirius winced slightly at the pressure she put there. "Sorry darling. Not as young as I once was." He took her foot in one hand and kneaded the insole with his thumb. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of her foot rub. "Was thinking of using an alternative method." He set his cup back down and began rubbing his way up her calf.

"Actually." She stopped him. "That area's been thoroughly satisfied. But I wouldn't say no to more foot massages." She gave him a demure look and batted her eyelashes at him.

"As the lady wishes." He raised her foot to his mouth and gave it a kiss before setting to his task and filling her in on his Christmas, up until coming home from the Burrow.

()()

It was one o'clock when he left her flat with her a big puddle of relaxation on the couch from his pampering. He apparated from the stairwell of her building to Remus' front yard.

Remus had taken up his father's home after he passed, his mother having died when he was eighteen. It was a small two-bedroom, one bath cottage in Northern England, near Durham. He knew there was a reinforced room in the basement for Remus' earlier transformations before Wolfsbane had been invented. Sirius remembered watching his friend suffer through the change and was so grateful that there was now a potion that could make it all easier for him. Sirius was rather itching to go for a run with him again one of these times. Remus may not have had the presence of mind for it, but Sirius and James had had great fun running around through the forest on those nights.

It looked like the walk-way hadn't been shoveled in two days, which was accurate. As Remus' nearest neighbors were a full acre away, he pulled out his wand and banished the snow piling on the walkway from the rural lane and knocked on the door.

It took a few minutes for the very tired looking Remus to open the door. "Why didn't you Floo?" He asked, ushering him in to block out the cold once more.

"Wasn't at home. Lady friend isn't hooked up to your grate." He shrugged off his new jacket. It was the one that Harry had given him and was quite comfortable and the warming spells had done their job against the cold wind coming off the cold wind from the field the other side of the lane way.

"Going to tell me who she is yet? It's been nearly a month now." Remus asked and led him into the sitting room.

"No." He smiled. "We're too casual for it to be made public." He took up in an armchair on the other side of his fireplace. Looked like Remus had been invested in a book when he'd come to the door.

"Everything go okay?" He indicated to the bags under his friends' eye.

Remus shook off the need for worry over him. "I'm fine. Just awake most of the night, can't pull off that all night partying like I used to." He explained. "Where's Harry today?"

"The Burrow. Neville Longbottom was heading over there. They are building snow forts and behaving like kids." Sirius beamed proudly.

"Good." Remus gave a soft smile. "What else?"

"Well, it's been a busy few days." He pulled out the list of items from the Goblins. He'd been careful to keep that paperwork in a different location than the adoption papers lest he accidentally hand Amelia the wrong stack. "We took care of the Diary, and by 'we' I mean Albus did it while I watched in awe." He told him while Remus started leafing through the sheets of paper and stopped to looked up at him, eyes full of questions. "Fiendfyre. The thing burned to a crisp and there was this... scream and billowy black smoke that came out of it. If we can figure it out, maybe Albus will let you observe this next one."

"I would want to see that." Remus admitted and looked back down at the sheets. "Anything on here jump out at you?"

"Yes." Sirius leaned forward and rustled through them to get to the right page. "There." He pointed. "Chalice- Badger engravement. Sounds like it could be Hufflepuff's cup."

"Wouldn't that be-" Remus cut off, pondering.

"Too easy?" Sirius offered. "Well, we'd still have to find it in the vault, so let's hope. But there is also a bit of cutlery down there." He turned Remus' attention to the 'Weaponry' page and pointed out all of the swords. "One of those could be Gryffindor's sword as well. And." He flipped to the 'Jewelry' page. "One of these crowns and tiaras could be Ravenclaw's."

Remus sighed. "So, there are still a few different things we would be looking for."

"Yes. And I was wondering if you were feeling up to a trip to the Headmasters office? I know he knows more about all this than he'd letting on. He must have a list of possible items, maybe even some more memories from Tom Riddle he had locked away."

"More memories? And he know's who Tom Riddle is?"

"Yeah." Sirius filled him in on the vision from yesterday with Horace Slughorn and what Albus had asked of him.

"Hmm." Was Remus' only response. "Well." He said after a minute of contemplation. "I think a spot of lunch is in order before we head to Hogwarts." He got up and they headed into the kitchen.

()()()

Again, the gasp was unnecessary. Going into and coming out of a Pensive did not obstruct one's air supply but for some reason his body told his mind that watching the visions was suffocating. Sirius sighed and looked over to Remus, trying to gauge if his mate's reaction to all those memories was the same as his.

His first reaction was anger. Albus Dumbledore had been sitting on this information and could have been recruiting old Order of Phoenix members to hunt down these items over the past decade. He knew that Tom Riddle had gotten the Gaunt ring from Marvolo Gaunt. It was on his finger in the Slughorn memory. There was no way that that wasn't one of the Horcruxes now. And there were over one hundred rings in the Black Vault that could be that one.

Remus was ready with the questions though. He went to sit at the chair in front of the desk, looking a little less energetic than he had before they went into the memories. "Have you looked for the ring yet? Or the cup?"

"I plan to take a trip to the Riddle family home and hoped that one or both of you might accompany me." He requested. "From what we heard from Kreacher about the cave, I believe that if there is one there, there will be traps and enchantments protecting it."

"Of course, I will go with you." Remus answered immediately and turned to Sirius.

Sirius pursed his lips. Of course, he was going too. There wasn't any way he was going to pass up the chance to make sure a thorough search was done, no matter how much he trusted Remus. Albus was too secretive. He knew knowledge was power and he wanted to keep most of that power to himself. Remus was more trusting of him than Sirius.

It wasn't as though Sirius thought Albus would do anything to harm Remus, but he wouldn't put it past the old man to put memory charm on Remus to 'protect him' or some such nonsense.

"I'm going." Sirius told them.

Albus nodded his head and gave an appreciative smile. "And, have you heard back from Horace yet?"

"Not yet. I have heard back from the Goblin's though. That's what we really came here to talk to you about." He didn't want to pull out the list from his pocket for Albus to look over himself. If he'd seen all the memories and what Albus knew of the potential objects used, then showing him his riches wasn't going to do anything. "Now we know that he had access to the locket and the Hufflepuff cup, but do we know anything about Ravenclaw's tiara, or Gryffindor's sword?"

"Ravenclaw's diadem has been missing for centuries. Her daughter stole it and hid it away, that was the last it had ever been heard of." Albus answered, unconvinced.

"I thought about that." Sirius pointed out. "And you know that Ravenclaw's daughter is here, right?"

"Yes." He nodded, he had properly introduced himself to all the Hogwarts ghosts when he took over as Headmaster. "You think that she would have told him? She is notoriously mute when it comes to the subject of her mother."

"From what we just witnessed." Remus chimed in. "He had a way with getting things out of people. He may have easily flattered Hepzibah Smith, but you believe he tricked Horace Slughorn into telling him about Horcruxes. There is a chance that he played the sympathy card with her and got it out of her."

"That is true." Albus pondered. "The Gryffindor sword though, that one will not be found in your vault."

"You know where it is?" Sirius asked in surprise.

He gestured to the wall behind them. Both Marauders turned around in their seats and peered at the shelves behind them. There, on the third shelf, behind a few Order of Merlin's of various class, was a sword.

"You are sure that is it? Not a replica?" Remus wanted assurance.

"I have had Flitwick examine it. It has been there since I became Headmaster, and it would have been most unwise for Tom Riddle to have placed his Horcrux in it."

"Why is that?" Remus asked.

"There is a legend around the sword that it goes to those showing true bravery and loyalty in times of need. If a true Gryffindor was in peril and asking for help, the sword would go to them."

"You don't believe that?!" Sirius wanted to laugh.

"How do you think I came to be in possession of it?" Albus challenged gently.

The men exchanged a look. Sirius was dubious but chose not to say anything more about it. This was the man that defeated Grindelwald after all. If he said it was an almighty 'Apparating' sword, then okay.

"Shall we try and have a chat with the Grey Lady then?" Remus suggested.

The Library, Great Hall, and Ravenclaw Tower were searched with no avail. It was as they were headed back to check some of the classrooms that she had been known to visit that they came across her. She was on the seventh floor, gliding in the direction of the Ravenclaw common room.

"Lady Grey." The Headmaster greeted her. She inclined her head and made to continue her way. "I wonder if you will indulge us to occupy a moment of your time."

Sirius hadn't taken the time to really notice her before. She had been a rather beautiful woman. Her corseted dress gave way to the silhouette that lay underneath, her long hair pinned back from her studious face hung elegantly down her back. Even these hundreds of years later her looks were timelessly beautiful.

She came to a stop beside them, saying nothing but allowing them the opportunity to speak their piece.

"This is a delicate matter, and we hope that you will allow us to preface our question for you. Giving great thought-"

"Did you tell Tom Riddle where your mother's tiara was hidden? We think he found it and used Dark Magic on it." Sirius cut Albus off. They didn't need to dance around the question all day.

Her transparent eyes widened in shock before narrowing angrily at them. A snarling look came to her pursed lips.

"You did." Remus asked, amazed.

"Please." Albus asked. "If you know where it is, we must destroy it. We will try to find a way to preserve the diadem, but we must destroy the piece of dark magic with in it."

Her head tilted slightly, shoulders dropping a fraction before standing impossibly straight. "I had... no idea... He was... flattering. He seemed to... understand... to sympathize..." She admitted to them.

"Many have fallen victim to his manipulations. There was very nearly a generation lost to his attempt to gain control of the Wizarding world. I myself gave him far too many chances." Albus admitted to her. "Please Helena, Grey Lady. If you believe he found the diadem, do you know where he might have hidden it?"

She wrung her hands together. "You wish to destroy it."

"If he did to it what we think he did, then it has to be destroyed." Remus told her empathetically.

"We will try to remove the dark magic. Keep the diadem intact." Albus assured.

She shook her head. "No. Too many have tried to gain the knowledge from it. It holds great power. Too great. My mother was capable of dealing with the power it provided. I was not." Her mouth curved into a sad frown, looking back over her shoulder. "It should be destroyed."

"Where did you hide it?" Albus asked.

She turned back to face him. "It doesn't matter. It isn't there anymore."

"He did find it then." Albus said sadly.

The Grey Lady nodded and looked over her shoulder once more. Sirius looked through her to the wall behind. That was roughly where Dumbledore had created the room to destroy the Diary. "It's here?!" He asked, astounded.

She turned back to Sirius, giving away nothing.

"Is it here? Do you know how we can find it in... there?" He gestured through her.

Still she betrayed nothing of and answer through her expression.

"What if we promise to destroy it?" Remus offered. "You could watch us do it."

That had her visibly considering it. She assessed Remus, taking in his clothes, the age lines appearing at the corner of his eyes, the bags under those eyes and his clothes. She then did the same to Sirius, and finally Albus. "You value the history of the diadem too greatly to risk destroying it." She told the Headmaster. "You are the head of this school. Something belonging to one of its founders you would fight to preserve."

"We could make him take an Unbreakable Vow." Sirius offered.

Albus shot him a bewildered and furious look. Of course he would be vehemently against that. He did want to preserve the power of the tiara, it was a priceless relic but there could be replicas made that would not be the cause of a war.

Sirius held his gaze. "The tiara is too dangerous. I agree with her. I'll give you another one if you so desperately want it. Hell, I'll give you matching gems and you can re-create one. This one is already tainted." Sirius argued.

"You are positive you know where it is?" Remus stepped between the two feuding men to address her.

"I've kept my eye on it, lest someone else come across it." She admitted.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Remus asked. "It had been nearly forty years now, hasn't it? If he came to you as a student?"

Her expression turned remorseful. "I swore to never give my trust away like that again." She turned to Sirius. "An Unbreakable Vow. I will guide you to its location only after he swears it." She nodded at Albus.

Sirius bit his tongue. He wanted to ask what it was about he and Remus that made them worthy of her trust, but perhaps she had retained the stories of Albus Dumbledore over the years. He was 115 after all, that was a good percentage of her afterlife to have him around. She must have known what a great wizard he was.

Both Sirius and Remus turned to Albus. The snitch was within his reach (AN-trying to go for 'ball was in his court'), if he even decided he needed some time to 'think about it' she could change her mind. And if he took too long to decide while they stood here, that could make her keep it to herself as well.

Albus agreed, with great difficulty showing through his forced nod of assent. Sirius stepped forward and held out his arm. "Remus, if you will."

Albus clasped his arm around Sirius' extended forearm and Sirius grasped his hand around Albus' as Remus moved to stand beside them, wand at the ready to perform the vow. Lady Grey came to the other side, standing poised and determined to not change her mind.

"Do you Albus Dumbledore swear to do everything in your power to destroy Ravenclaw's Diadem?" Remus asked.

"I do."

"Do you Albus Dumbledore swear to destroy Ravenclaw's Diadem at your earliest, safest opportunity?"

"I do."

"Do you Albus Dumbledore swear an Unbreakable Vow that you will not look for alternative methods to preserve Ravenclaw's Diadem, but to destroy it within minutes of its discovery, or lose your life?"

Albus sucked in a breath through his nose. Sirius held tighter to his arm. "I do."

A band of gold wrapped itself around their joined arms as Remus finished the spell sealing the vow.

"It is in the Come and Go Room." Helena told them. "Call it into existence and I will guide you to where he placed it."

Albus released Sirius' arm and turned on his heel to pace the short distance of the corridor three times before the door appeared.

Gringotts and Hogwarts. Of course, two of the Horcruxes were stashed away in locations of magical significance. Sirius had seen the memory from the orphanage Tom Riddle had grown up in. Those two places must have been the pinnacle of what it meant to be a wizard in his eyes.

Lady Grey led the way through the room that appeared. There was all manner of items collected in this room. It was vast and contained aisles of discarded or useless flotsam that must have dated back to the time of Helena Ravenclaw in the flesh. It reminded him somewhat of his vault. No doubt that even if they knew the tiara was in this room, they could have spent years trying to locate its exact coordinates.

"Did you know all of this was here?" Remus asked Albus. They too were trying to keep up with Lady Grey whilst their eyes took in the plethora of items around them.

"I did not. It makes sense now why the House Elves knew all about it. They must have been storing discarded furniture and the like in here for ages." There were aisles running through the collections, no noticeable categorization of like and like objects.

Lady Grey led them down one such aisle and halted abruptly. Sirius was mere inches away from passing through her before realizing. Remus bumped into him, but they managed to steady themselves.

"There." She said bitterly looking off to their right at the base of a bust sitting atop a dresser with missing drawers. It was wedged between the bust and a lamp beside it. An oval shaped sapphire donning the peak, just as the pictures depicted it when it was atop Rowena Ravenclaw's head.

"Do it or die." Lady Grey directed at Albus.

He nodded and reached out for a pointer stick resting beside the dresser, using that to thread through the ring of the diadem and bring it back to himself.

"You are wise to not touch it." She commented before her face turned dark and her voice harsh. "Now destroy it!"

Albus nodded solemnly. "I need just to convert the room once more, then I will use Fiendfyre, as I did with the last Horcrux." He turned and led the way back out the room.

"Is it true?" Sirius asked Lady Grey. "About the Bloody Baron?"

She regarded him a moment with pursed lips. "He haunts me still all these centuries later." She stated woefully. "I cannot escape him even in death."

"And you couldn't move on? To some other plain of existence, or whatever it is that comes next?"

"Perhaps I will soon." She ruminated. "Even all this time later, I am still unsure as to how it all works. Whether it is my unfinished business keeping me here, or if it was a choice I made. Perhaps I was cursed for my poor decision, or I had an excess of magic at my time of death. Perhaps I have still to expel the lasting magic left in me. I have not met a ghost that is much older than I."

"You still look good." Sirius offered. She gave him a wry look. "I don't know what the Bloody Baron looks like under his hood and chains, but was he really so horrible?"

"To me he was. I was promised to him, as soon as my studies were complete, I was to wed him. But I did not care for him, I could never have cared for him. Least of all now. When he killed me, it was an accident. An overreaction on his part to my vehement denial of any romantic feelings toward him."

"And then he killed himself because of it?" He asked. They were getting near the exit. Remus was listening from just ahead of them but saying nothing.

"The rumors are true. Even in my time gossip was an exciting pass time. The story had reached the castle before I returned as the apparition I am now. The story has been shared throughout my mother's house as a part of the first years initiate night. It is no surprise that its tale has spread to the other houses."

They exited the room and Sirius closed the door behind him, watching it disappear. Then Albus began pacing again.

"You are notoriously silent, why are you so willingly telling me this now?" Sirius asked.

She gave him a serene look. "The last time I told that story it was to a villainous individual. As I hope that this will be my last telling I want it to be to someone who is not deceitful."

He could tell that despite the surety that was in her statement, this was her most wishful thinking. "And if the diadem is destroyed and you are still as you are?"

The new door was before them, Albus opened it and they followed through, Sirius guided Remus to stand at the back by the wall.

"There will be no need for me to tell the story again." She said sadly, standing beside the pedestal that Albus lay her mother's precious object upon.

"All ready?" Albus asked her.

She gave a stiff nod. Albus steadied himself a moment before he lassoed his wand above his head once more casting the ribbon of fire around the pedestal, and like it had with the Diary, the diadem was encircled with the knot slowly tightening inward around it.

Remus was focused on what was happening with the Fiendfyre, but Sirius couldn't pull his eyes away from Helena Ravenclaw. Her attention was rapt on the diadem and she was getting close enough to reach out and touch it. She had no reason to fear the Fiendfyre and he was fascinated as she placed her transparent hand over the ring of metal, grasping it as though she had corporeal form.

Her eyes closed as her hand passed through, then flashed open once more. The flames were touching the outside of the diadem now and it began to rattle. "Here she comes!" She called ominously. "Mother!" She cried just as a black smoke erupted upwards from the center of the pedestal. The smoke grew and encompassed nearly a meter diameter around the pedestal, blocking out their view of what was happening with it.

One more cry erupted and a moment later and both the smoke and Helena Ravenclaw disappeared.

Sirius blinked a few times to try and see if his eyes were playing tricks on him. She was gone. She could have just run through the wall when the smoke plumed, but he somehow doubted that was the case.

And the room was sweltering. The flaming lasso still raging and curling in around the now warped metal. He wasn't extinguishing the flame like he had last time. Albus had both his hands on his wand. He was shaking slightly from the energy of keeping the flames in control, but he wasn't calling them back.

The two remaining Maurauders turned to each other in concern. Remus clearly didn't like the look on Sirius' face telling him that this is not what had happened just yesterday. Albus Dumbledore was struggling to keep the whole room from being engulfed in flames. They couldn't get any closer to him lest they break his concentration, but they would surly liquefy or turn to ash if he didn't stop the flame soon.

Sweat was pouring down their faces, Sirius could feel the drops catching in his eyebrows and beard. This space was too small.

"Aguamenti" Remus shouted, pointing his wand at the ribbon of flames.

"Aguamenti Maxima." Sirius joined him.

There was a hiss, but the flames were still there. Still contained to that area. They kept casting the spell. Jet after jet of water was hitting the ribbon. The temperature of the small space still on the rise.

"You aim for the pedestal, I'll aim for just in front of his wand." Sirius told Remus entering into panic mode. His friend was not in the best of health before, now he would most certainly need a replenishing potion if they made it out of there alive.

"3, 2, 1" Remus counted out and they both put as much power behind their spell as they could. The combined jets along that length of the fire was enough for Albus to recall the mere two feet of flame still coming from his wand. Upon its extinguishing the old man collapsed to the floor. Remus rushed to him while Sirius pulled the door open before helping pull Albus out to the corridor. They got him outside the room, Sirius kept the door to the room open with his boot and looked back at the diadem, now a mangled heap, but one that he could not touch with his bare hands, so he dared not summon it to himself.

He thought quickly about what he could use to contain the overly heated metal and his eyes rested on Remus' horrible sweater vest. "Sorry mate." He said before grabbing hold above his pocket with one hand and gripping the top of the pocket with the other and yanking down. The pocket came off, and the length of fabric below it.

Sirius darted into the room and folded the material over several times in his hand before quickly picking up the diadem and darting back out into the hallway, letting the door close this time.

The metal was burning through the material and making it catch fire when he threw it to the ground and it bounced once, the fabric completely melting. Remus cast another water spell and it put out the flames with a hiss.

Sirius fell back against the wall, sinking to the floor beside Albus, who was still not awake. "He alive?"

"Yes. Just unconscious." Remus put his fingers to Albus' pulse point.

"You answered before checking for a pulse?" Sirius panted. That had taken more out of him than he'd initially thought. Now that he was sitting down and had time to catch his breath it was like his heart was beating even faster than it had been in the moments before.

"His chest is moving. I'm checking how fast his pulse is going." He bit back.

Sirius didn't take it personally. He was exhausted and sweaty. When one is this uncomfortable, they tend to get snippy. Remus would be in even worse shape than him.

"Professor Lupin?" A girl's voice had the two men looking down the hall. She was maybe fourteen with brown hair plaited to the side. She looked suitable alarmed at the state of her Defense Against the Dark Arts professor with a ripped vest, sitting exhausted on the floor next to her passed out Headmaster and man she may recognize as an ex-convict.

"Miss McInnes." Remus recognized her. His voice sounded steadier than Sirius could have managed. "Nothing to panic about, but could you please go to the hospital wing and get Madame Pomphrey for us. Ask for three restorative potions to be brought to us."

Her eyes went wide, but she asked no questions before turning back down the hall towards the Hospital wing.

"Help me prop him up?" Sirius asked. They grabbed Albus under the arms and had him leaning back against the wall as upright as they were going to manage, he kept lilting to the side when they weren't holding him. "Should we try to wake him, or wait for the Matron?"

"I say wake him now." Remus voted. "If he wakes, he might not realize he's safe at first. I don't need Poppy or Esther seeing that."

Assuming Esther was the girl, Sirius nodded and pointed his wand at Albus. "Enervate."

He flinched awake and lifted his wand arm again as a jerk reaction.

"No!" Remus and Sirius both yelled.

"It's over. The Horcrux is gone." Remus tried placating him.

"Albus. Put the wand down!" Sirius was kicking himself for not thinking to remove his wand first. What a stupid move!

His periwinkle eyes were moving all over the place, trying to find a place to settle. Remus moved so that he was directly in front of Albus' face, a foot away. "Relax. Poppy is on her way." Albus wheezed a few times and shivered, but he was able to focus on Remus' face and lowered his wand. "There we go." Remus took the wand between his fingers delicately and removed it from his grip.

That dealt with Sirius looked over to where the diadem was. It was still steaming in the evaporating puddle on the floor. He shot another spout of water at it. It didn't hiss as much as it had, but he doubted that they'd be able to touch it before Poppy reached them.

"Think you can get out of the rest of that sweater vest?" He asked Remus, who was still staring at Albus, trying to gauge his level of coherency.

Remus looked over to Sirius, then to the diadem. "Hold him up?"

Sirius did as asked while Remus shrugged out of his jacket and unbuttoned the vest and handed it over to him, taking up his place again keeping hold on Albus.

Sirius did a few tentative touches with his vest wrapped hand to test how hot it still was. It had cooled considerably. He picked it up properly and wrapped the scraps of cloth around it, then sat back against the wall with it on the floor between he and Albus.

Remus sat down on the other side of Albus and they each used one shoulder to keep the Headmaster propped up.

"I believe." Albus whispered. "That we may." he took a breath. "Have to find a... different method... for the others." he rasped out.

**AN- Sorry all, not any Hinny in this chapter.**


	15. Getting it done

It was an odd feeling this. The heavy weight. The undeniable trust required from one so small to allow him to be the one to carry him in. The fact that he, out of all the other options, was the one the child had come to in his tiredness for help. The poor little tyke had been out there with the four of them for hours now, and he'd done his best to keep up, but his little arms and legs were half the size of the rest of them.

Harry, Ginny, Ron, Kenneth and Neville had gone outside to have a fly around, make snow angels, build snow forts and then use those forts to hide behind in a snow ball fight.

The fight was supposed to be Weasley's versus 'Away Team', but little Kenneth wanted to be with Harry and Neville. Probably because Harry had been the one to take him up on his broom.

Every ground based activity they'd done may have been rather juvenile considering they were all sixteen- and seventeen-year old's but having the little four-year-old with them and his exuberant enthusiasm for everything made it all so much more entertaining.

Now Kenneth was nearly comatose as they trekked back up to the Burrow.

With the way he'd fought to keep his eyes open it was clear he was badly in need of a nap. Ginny had gone to pick him up, but he'd gravitated towards Harry. She'd pouted at his reproach, but there was a twinkle in her eye when he'd picked him up and figured out how best to keep him in place against his chest. It made Harry wonder if there was some innate female thing coded into their DNA to be attracted to male's taking care of children.

It was an interesting feeling carrying a small child. It made Harry feel like he had all the responsibility in the world, and truthfully, he was very pleased Kenneth had chosen him to have the honor of carrying him inside. It was like he was already a member of the Weasley family, and he was not going to let the kid down by accidentally dropping him.

Once in the house he was instructed to lay him down on the dog bed/ turned Kenneth Nap Time Crash Landing Location, but he wasn't sure. "Really?" He asked Ginny after Ron had told him to place the little boy there.

"Really." Ginny told him. "It's as comfortable as the couch, and he is used to it. Even when Sirius was still a dog, he would push him off of it for his naps. Or cuddle up with him." She shrugged.

It just seemed wrong for some reason. He kind of just wanted to recline a bit on the couch and have the child continue to cuddle into him.

Ginny started pulling off Kenneth's boots and hat. Then she tugged off Harry's hat too as he stood there awkwardly. Then the choice was taken away from him when Ron came and took Kenneth out of Harry's arms and put him down on the bed on his belly.

It hadn't phased Kenneth in the least. He just made a small murmur and cuddled into the bed on the floor.

"Alright?" Ginny asked him, her cheeks all red from coming in from the cold.

"Yeah." Harry snapped out of whatever he'd been thinking. "Yeah. Just... he's really cute." He answered sheepishly.

"Adorable." She agreed, sounding more like she was talking about him than her nephew and came to stand in front of him and started undoing the buttons on his coat unnecessarily. "He's really keen on you. Something about that barrel roll you took him through." She raised an eyebrow.

"I held him really tight through that." He defended. "And I only did it the once." Because the kid had screamed with joy through the whole maneuver and it hurt the eardrums hours later just thinking of it. Ginny had given him this glare as well that told Harry that hadn't been a good thing to do.

"I've got some cocoa for you." Mrs. Weasley levitated a tray of steaming mugs into the sitting room. "Oh good, you've worn him out." She beamed down at her grandson. "He must have had a good time." They all gave their thanks to the woman, grabbing a mug each, before she turned back to the kitchen and left them to recover.

Harry pulled Ginny down beside him on the couch, she promptly curled up beside him. "So, Neville." She started. "It's been long enough and we've been patient. Now your time is up. Spill the beans."

"What? About what?" Neville asked her confused.

They'd all held off interrogating him about his love life these past few weeks. Granting him privacy in case he and this person he'd been sneaking around with didn't know whether it was worth telling. But it had been weeks now. It couldn't possibly just be a passing thing. Unless it was multiple passing 'things'.

"It's true, we have been patient." Harry told him. "Just in case you weren't sure, but now we're just too curious. And we're your friends. Why would you want to hide someone from us?" He'd tried to take Ginny's explanation for why he hadn't already shared to heart. Harry hadn't talked to Neville about Ginny's and his relationship, so why would he think Neville should do the same? But it still nagged at him. Neville at least knew Harry and Ginny were together. And he'd know Harry fancied her right from the off.

Neville, whose cheeks were already red from their outside activities, turned flush. "I. What makes you think I'm hiding someone?"

Ron let out a snort. "Something about you returning to Gryffindor Tower looking suitably ravaged a time or two." Ron smirked. "Come on mate. Who is she?"

"Or he?" Ginny asked point blank.

"SHE." Neville corrected quickly, then pinched his lips looking like he'd given too much away.

Ginny smiled wide and stuck out her tongue at him. "And what is the lovely girls name? And why would you want to keep her a secret? Or why would she want to keep you a secret?"

Neville let out a low groan. He'd been called out properly now, and admitted he'd been seeing a girl. There was no point in hiding the information any longer. "It just. It surprised me to start. She'd just shown up in the Greenhouse one day while I was working alone. I thought maybe she wanted some help with an assignment or something, but that wasn't it." A trace of a smile came to his mouth and an unspoken memory. "She was so forward. I thought for sure a girl would have come up with some other pretense. But no. She just. And then she kept showing up when I was working. She'd snog me, then work alongside me for a bit, then snog me again. She's just so different from. Well, anyone."

Ginny sucked in a breath. "Oh. My. God!" She sat up straight and put her mug down. "The Quatchitarms?!"

Neville went full on red, meanwhile Harry and Ron exchanged confused looks.

"Wow! I'd completely forgotten!" She exclaimed.

"Oi, want to clue us in?" Ron asked. "What the bleeding hell in a Quatchitarm?"

Ginny pointedly ignored Ron and focused entirely on Neville with an awed look on her face. "So, do you like her? Or is it just because you don't have anything else going on right now?"

"I don't know." Neville chewed his lip. "I mean." He swallowed. "It was a surprise. It usually is." He admitted. "But I don't know what to say to her about it. She only seeks me out in the Greenhouse and seems to know when I'm working by myself. I don't know what she wants, but we've got to talking. Well." He blushed again. "She does most of the talking, and it isn't all crazy talk, like she'd known for. She's actually really insightful. Kind of poetic the way her fantastical theories mix in with the facts."

"Yeah, I've noticed that." Ginny nodded. "And she is quite pretty. Not everyone notices that because they just automatically deem her crazy."

"Wait, wait, wait." Ron held up his hand. "Are you talking Luna Lovegood?"

Harry's brow scrunched up trying to think of who Luna Lovegood was. Her dad owned the Quibbler, but he couldn't picture what she looked like. Harry frowned at that. He should have known who she was. He should have thanked her for getting them all those copies of the Quibbler they'd gone through. It had been rather rude of him not to think of doing that before now.

"Yeah. Luna Lovegood." Neville admitted, still blushing.

Ron snickered and Ginny threw a couch pillow at him. "Be nice! She was a good friend of mine once."

She turned back to Neville. "So, you don't know if she likes you? Or you don't know if you like her?"

"I just. You'll think I'm being shallow." He said quietly and into his mug.

"You're afraid of what people would say if they find out you're snogging her in the Greenhouses." Ginny answered for him.

Harry cringed on behalf of his friend. This might wind up with Neville incurring Ginny's wrath. She could be quite the hot-head when the situation called for it, and saying some girl was too crazy to go public with sounded exactly like something she could go off on someone about.

Neville didn't answer, he just looked upset with himself. "Look, you weren't there when I first started Hogwarts. I was the slowest one in all my classes. If Seamus wasn't blowing up cauldrons once a week, I'd be the worst all around. I got teased and bullied a lot."

"Mate." Harry started, but Neville gave him a look.

"I know you and Hermione stood by me." He turned back to Ginny. "And I just don't need the negative attention again. She gets that kind of attention all the time too, and probably doesn't need the association with me to make things worse for her." He pointed out. "She is the one always making sure I'm alone before she finds me."

Harry had been there beside Neville while the Slytherin's and sometimes the Hufflepuff's, hell, even sometimes it was Dean and Seamus, gave him a hard time. But Neville just hadn't been great at Transfiguration, or Charms. He'd probably be okay in Potions if Snape hadn't been making him so nervous. But he was stellar at Herbology.

Kids teased, it was something Harry had been used to in primary school. Harry had stood up for Neville when the teasing happened. He'd tried to be the friend he wished he'd had before Hogwarts.

Ginny huffed and leaned back against the couch, staring hard at Neville. "That's a crap reason Nev. Luna's never cared what other people's opinions are. She never will care. If you properly go out with her it won't matter to her what anyone else says. Would it really hurt to take her on a proper date and then decide?" She asked. "She may be seeking you out snogs to pass the time, but why not ask her and find out."

Neville tried to avoid looking Ginny in the eye then and fiddled with his cup.

Harry and Ron exchanged an uncomfortable look as the tension in the room was growing thick.

"Fine!" Neville caved. "I like her. Okay? She's sweet, and smart, and really pretty with these big blue eyes. And she listens to me when I talk about my work in the Greenhouses. And I really like kissing her." He admitted. "But what if she really does only want to snog me because she knows I wouldn't push her away? What if she doesn't actually like me?" He sounded desperate to know that it wouldn't be the case.

Ginny got up and went to sit on the arm of his chair, giving him a side hug. "I haven't spent a lot of time with her over the last few years, but even if that was the case, she would tell you straight. Wouldn't it be better to know?"

"No." Ron answered for him. "It'd be like a kick to the nuts to find that out. He'd be depressed for weeks finding out she was just tolerating snogging him because he was there but didn't actually like him for more than that."

"Two completely different situations Ron!" Ginny told him angrily knowing he was talking about he and Hermione, not Neville and Luna.

"No, he's right. That would suck." Neville agreed.

Harry wanted to bail, head into the kitchen, or maybe just go home. He could make up some story about Sirius having asked him home earlier than dinner. As inconspicuously as possible he leaned back to check the clock on the wall close to the kitchen. All stealth was lost when he squinted at it, realizing it had way more hands than any clock he'd ever seen before, and those hands had faces on them. And instead of numbers there were locations. It was some sort of tracking device for the Weasley family.

He shook his head and turned back to regard his two lovesick friends. He'd wanted them to share with him, now they were. He shouldn't be trying to get away from them now because things had got awkward. "Maybe." He finally started contributing. "Ginny, if you're friends with her, you could just ask her?"

"You want me to ask her?" She asked incredulously. "Isn't that rather cowardly?"

"Well." Harry gestured to Neville and his lost look of defeat.

Instead of looking offended by the insinuation Neville looked hopeful. "Please Ginny? I'd much rather you relay it than she tells me to my face that I shouldn't get my hopes up."

Ginny looked back and forth between Neville and Harry before scoffing and rolling her eyes. She stood up and stomped over to the kitchen muttering to herself. "Totally juvenile. Such babies."

"Hmm." Ron wondered. "Think she'd sus out the Daphne situation too?"

Ginny came back into the room after the three boys had shared several moments of silence and cuddled back into Harry's side. She said nothing, just picked up her drink and rested her back against his side.

"Well?" Ron asked. "What'd you just do?"

"I invited her over." Ginny told him plainly.

Neville sputtered a bit. "You. She's coming here?" He asked aghast.

"I don't know if she can make it." She prefaced. "I just invited her. She might be in South Sudan for all I know. If that's the case, then no, she won't be coming here. But if she is home then she could be here any moment."

"She _is_ home." Neville said in a panic.

"How do you know?" Harry probed.

"Well. I've been. Writing her." He admitted.

"Then what are you so worried about?" Ginny asked. "If the two of you are writing each other then it can't be that awkward between you."

"I'm not worried." He said determinedly. "I'm just." He wrung his hands.

"Look. Do you want her to be your girlfriend? Or just carry on being casual like this?" Ginny asked straight.

Neville didn't respond, he simply looked pained. And Harry felt for him. That first month at school where he was fairly sure that Ginny returned his affection, he'd been too chicken shit to do anything about it because he didn't want to chance it getting awkward between them in case he was wrong. Now, Harry didn't really know Luna at all, but from what he'd heard she was direct with a touch of crazy, but incredibly nice. That didn't sound like someone that would hurt his friends' feelings.

"Look, Nev." Harry offered. "Wouldn't it be better just to talk to her about this and know? Your gut must be twisted about it a bit."

"I just don't know if I can get the words out." He admitted.

A whimper came from the child on the dog bed distracting them all. Kenneth was still out cold though.

Man, he was adorable.

The flames in the sitting room let out a burst of green abruptly, followed by a slender girl with long blonde hair and big blue eyes, a Santa hat adorning her head. She looked rather surprised to be there.

"Luna!" Ginny jumped up and gave her a hug. "Welcome. Were you in the middle of something?"

"Oh, nothing I can't pick up later. I was quite excited to be invited over. I don't get many invitations to things." She said simply. "Hello Ron, hello Neville." She nodded at them and turned to Harry. "We've never talked before." She came over and held out her hand. "I'm Luna Lovegood."

Harry stood up quickly and took her hand. She seemed alright to him. "Harry, uh Potter."

"I know. You are much less intimidating than one would expect." She peered at him studiously. "Taller too."

His jaw went slack at that. "Uh. Well, I try?"

Ron snickered and Harry saw Ginny shoot him a glare. "Hey Luna." He nodded trying to stifle his chuckles. "I hear you know Neville pretty well."

"Oh!" She turned to the boy in question. "I suppose it makes sense you told your friends. I didn't think you'd tell anyone though." She stared at him, twirling the end of one of her locks.

"I. Uh. Sorry?" Neville floundered.

"For what?" She asked.

Harry looked over Luna's shoulder at Ginny. He wasn't quite sure what to make of this girl. Stories about people were usually exaggerated through the halls of Hogwarts. Even the description Ginny and Hermione had given of her over a month ago; quite nice with a few screws loose, he was sure there would be more to her. Like maybe they'd caught her on an off day, even though Ginny said she'd been friends with her when they were younger. She had this child like innocence about her. Ginny wasn't paying any attention to him though; her eyes were on Neville.

"Well. Um. I thought maybe you didn't want people to know." Neville landed on, blushing furiously.

"Me? Why would I want to hide it? No one cares what I do, I didn't want to hurt your reputation. You've been so nice to me." She tilted her head at him curiously.

Neville stared at her in awe. Harry was rather surprised at her as well. She was a quirky, but still a pretty girl. Why wouldn't Neville want people to know he'd been snogging her? Who would care?

Neville got up from the armchair and slowly, cautiously, put one hand on her hip, the other cupping her face and gave her a full kiss on the lips.

Ginny looked like she wanted to cheer for them, and it made Harry chuckle, she was so proud.

()()

"Wow, don't you two look like rays of sunshine." Harry commented when he came in through the Floo.

Sirius grumbled. He and Remus had come back to Grimmauld through the Floo in Remus' office at Hogwarts and promptly collapsed on the couch, letting Dobby cater to them. Remus had been in a pretty bad state. He hadn't had all that much energy when Sirius had picked him up that afternoon, after dealing with the Horcrux the excitement of it all nearly made him pass out.

"What happened to you two?" Harry asked.

"We got another one." Sirius told him and eyed his drink. It was all the way over on the coffee table, and that was two feet away from his hand that was resting on the arm of the couch. He vaguely wondered if it was the epitome of laziness to ask Harry to pass it to him.

"The Badger Chalice?" Harry asked excitedly. "That was it? You found it?"

"No." Remus all but moaned. "There was something at Hogwarts."

"At Hogwarts? Just laying around? And it's been there all this time?" Harry looked like he found that rather dubious.

Sirius summoned his strength and managed to grab his drink and tell Harry a shortened version of what had happened that afternoon at the school. Memories, Grey Lady, Horcrux and how they needed to find another way to destroy the things as Dumbledore was using up too much of his magic trying to control the Fiendfyre and it wasn't safe to try that again.

"No wonder you two are so worn out." Harry stated in awe.

Remus lifted a single hand and flopped it back down in an unsuccessful attempt to wave off worry.

"We'll be fine tomorrow." Sirius answered on behalf of Remus' attempt.

"You staying here tonight?" Harry asked his professor in concern. Remus hummed in response and kept his eyes closed. "Right then. Uh." He turned back to Sirius. "Any idea what we're doing for tea?"

Sirius was sure that one of the elves was on it but hadn't given any specific instructions. "Err, mind checking on that for me? Hadn't thought." He was really doing a crack up job at this responsible guardian business, wasn't he?

Harry nodded and left the room.

"He's such a good kid." Sirius commented to Remus.

"No kidding. Not annoying like so many others I have to teach. That Malfoy brat is so spoiled." Remus sighed.

"You going to make it until dinner?" His friend was in need of a nap at least, but sustenance should be had first. Remus simply gave a yawn in response. Sirius decided to copy his friend and rested his head against the back of the couch and close his eyes again.

"Hedwig came back with a response." Harry stated loudly coming back into the sitting room a few minutes later. "Oh. Sorry." He whispered having realized that he'd startled both of them awake.

"No problem." Sirius rasped. "Must have fallen asleep there." He wiped his eyes. "A response from whom?"

Harry held out the letter to show him. "Your old potions professor. Shall I open it?"

Sirius hummed in affirmation.

"Slughorn?" Remus asked confused, trying to sit up straight and keep his eyes open.

"Yeah. Did I not mention? Albus thinks that we can get the real memory from him about Tom Riddle with enough encouragement." He tilted his head to Harry and looked back to Remus as though that was all the answer he'd need.

"Hmm." Remus understood. "Lily was his favorite."

"Dear Mr. Black." Harry read out. "I would be delighted to meet with you and the young mister Potter. How nice of you to reach out to your dear old Potions Professor at what must be such a busy time for you. No doubt you must be looking for what might be coming next in your life. I am quite excited to meet the young man as well. If you would like I am quite keen on the idea of a Three Broomsticks Bangers and Mash for my Sunday tea, wouldn't say no to a pint as well. Please let me know if that would work with your schedule. Yours, Horace Slughorn."

Sirius let out a distressed groan. "I really don't want to do this."

Remus chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "You will manage."

"Are you going to come too?" Harry asked Remus brightly.

"You should." Sirius told him. "We can all share stories with Harry about our school days. Get a few drinks in Sluggy and get his guard down. It'll make it more likely he'll share what actually happened."

Now it was Remus' turn to let out a distressed groan. "Fine." He nearly sulked.

()()()

"Oh, she was so mad!" Horace Slughorn laughed, going red in the face both from the laughter and the drink.

The old professor had started off with a pint, then switched over to a brandy, then some kind of liqueur and now he was starting into a scotch that Sirius had brought him. This large man sure could drink.

Harry, Sirius, Remus and the old professor had been occupying the corner booth at the Three Broomsticks for three hours now. This walrus of a man sure loved to talk. He'd gone on and on about all the people he knew that were high ups in this that or the other thing, making damn sure Harry knew he could go to him if he ever needed a reference for anything because he 'knew people'.

It was rather irritating, but Harry forced a tight smile onto his face.

Sirius had warned him ahead of time that he'd be schmoozing up to the professor and might lead to embarrassing him a little. That part happened when Sirius brought up the fact that his girlfriend was a redhead. Apparently, that ran in the Potter family. Potter men had been marrying red headed women for generations. He didn't like how it got the attention on his love life, but it was a good way to bring up the school days of Lily Evans.

Currently they were telling some stories about the days before Lily Evans caved to James Potters attempts to woo her. Before he'd calmed down a bit it seemed that Harry's father sure knew how to piss her off. Right now, they were talking about how his dad had secured a date as a plus one to the Slug Club (terrible name in Harry's opinion) Gatherings with the sole intention of occupying his mum away from her date for the evening. And how that tactic had seemed so charming from James Potter's end, but Lily Evans was thoroughly annoyed by it.

"She wouldn't even look at him for a month after that." Remus laughed. He looked like he was actually enjoying himself, but that could have something to do with the three cognac's he'd had already. He'd also fallen asleep right after tea last night and slept right through until lunch time today so he would be feeling much better than he had yesterday.

"And we had to hear all his moaning about it." Sirius groaned at the memory. "He winged incessantly about every rebuff your mum made." He said turning to Harry.

"I've heard." He smiled. "She finally came around in their seventh year?" Harry found it was a rather romantic story with how his father pursued his mother and finally won her affections. He liked to think that they were truly and madly in love with each other and that had been their reason for marrying and having him so young, but it could have just been because of it being war time. Hearing how his dad was this doe eyed bumbling romantic helped reinforce his ideal version of their relationship.

"I remember that." Horace looked wistful. "Potter finally calmed down and put his smarts to use. He was Head Boy you know." He looked serious, well, as serious as one with glassy drunken eyes could, at Harry. "He'd been having a gay old time at school until the end of his sixth. Then the war really started effecting some of the students and he whipped right into shape." He dipped his finger into his tumbler and twirled it around. "Must have been that dedication to his education that really got to Lily." He sighed. "She was one of my favorites."

He'd said that a few times now and Harry was trying not to roll his eyes.

"You know what? I've never visited their house." Horace tapped his chin. "I should visit, see the statue." Harry felt a weight settle in his stomach.

"What?" Harry asked dumbly. Statue? What statue? How could he visit their house? That'd be the one in Godrics Hollow, one of the properties he had the deed for back in his trunk. But it had been exploded or something, hadn't it?

Remus and Sirius stiffened slightly.

"Yes. I should plan to go there and see where it all ended." Horace nodded, oblivious to the reaction from his dining partners and taking a pull from his drink.

That statement caused Harry to tuck his confusion away for later and get back to the whole reason they were here with him now. "Hope it ended anyways." He said quietly, but loud enough for Horace to hear. He also had tried to make it sound like a distracted comment.

"What? What was that." Horace asked.

"Harry." Sirius said in a concerned and warning voice. Horace turned to Sirius with growing alarm, then turned back to Harry. Harry caught the little eyebrow twitch from his godfather telling him to go ahead and give it a go.

"Well. I mean." Harry started. "They say I was the reason that he died, right? But there wasn't a body. I've read through everything I could get my hands on from then, and they never found a body." That part he'd read in the Quibbler, and Hermione had tried to find something claiming differently in the Prophet, but there was no mention of a body anywhere. His parents, yes. Voldemort, no. "Tom Riddle could very well have used Dark Magic to keep himself alive somehow."

"T-Tom R-Riddle." Horace squeaked. "You. Then you know who he was."

"Of course." Harry acted like he was surprised at the question. "I hadn't known anything about this world I was born into until Hagrid showed up to take me to Diagon Alley when I was eleven. I wanted to know as much about my real family as possible. And to find out I'd apparently killed someone when I was a baby, well, I wanted to know about that person too." Lie. Lie. It was all lies. He hadn't tried to find out anything until a few months ago, then it was just a deluge of information. But it sounded like the truth.

"We haven't taken Harry to see the Godric Hollow house yet." Sirius said apologetically. "He didn't know about the statue." He explained to Horace.

"Didn't know about a Horcrux until recently either." Harry said offhand.

Horace sucked in a breath. He stared at Harry with wide eyes. "He didn't." It was all he said as he stared at him in horror.

"Harry." Remus stage whispered. "It's not the time. Or the place. Hell, or the people." He stated tersely with a jab of his head towards the large man, the twitch at the corner of his mouth betraying him. Luckily that twitch was on the opposite side of his face from what Horace could see of him.

"Sorry." Harry looked down at his Butterbeer glumly. "Just been a lot this week. And a little fried from trying to get through all of my homework earlier." He shrugged a shoulder.

"You're lucky we can trust Horace here to keep that to himself." Sirius scolded. "We can. Right?" He turned to the man.

"I-I. Of course. You mean to say. He did it?" Horace asked them.

"He certainly had all the ability to. And now with Sirius cleared, we have some resources to look into it properly." Remus gestured. "We just don't know how many he may have attempted."

"Please." Sirius held out a hand. "Please swear to keep this to yourself. We'd cause a major panic if the general population learned of it." Sirius leaned forward. "Truly. You have to swear. We don't want to have to Obliviate you, but that is how serious we are taking this."

"I won't. I haven't said anything all these years." Horace said in shock and took another nervous sip of his scotch.

"Excuse me?" Harry asked. He wasn't supposed to have known that Horace Slughorn already knew about the Tom Riddle Horcrux potential. "You knew that he might have made them?" He peered deep into the man's drunken eyes. "Or you suspected?"

"I taught Tom Riddle." He admitted regrettably and gave a heavy sigh. "He was bright and captivating. It's really no wonder he managed to sway so many to his... cause." Another heavy sigh and pull from his glass while the three others looked on. "He asked me about them one night you know. Horcruxes." He said all importantly. "Asked if there was a limit to the number that could be made." His head was lowering as though he was slowly falling asleep, his eyes drooping with his head. "Seven's a lot." He snorted once and then did come forward as though he was asleep, his eyes closed completely.

"Uh. Horace? Mister Slughorn?" Harry asked concerned.

Sirius snorted. "Well. That answers that."

Harry turned to him, then looked over to Remus. Remus though was giving Sirius a disapproving look. "What?" Harry asked them in confusion.

"What did you give him?" Remus asked, looking directly at Sirius.

"Just a little motivation." He offered, unconcerned for their dining partners current state. "Figured if Dumbledore couldn't get him to offer it up willingly, then why should we try to get him to tell us _willingly_."

Harry was confused. He quickly replayed the actions at the table for the last hour, which was when Horace started getting rather intoxicated. He hadn't seen Sirius pull his wand on him at any time. But Sirius had excused himself to go to the toilets and came back with the last round of drinks. "You put something in his drink." He said out loud, softly though.

"Just a little truth serum with a calming draught. Figured it would come in handy to have just in case." He stated, sounding rather proud of himself.

"How did he not taste it?" Remus asked astounded.

"Please. Scotch will cover the flavor of anything even the chamomile." Sirius shook his head dismissively. "He would have been too drunk to notice it anyway."

Harry had to give him credit. Drugging him, which is essentially what he'd done, was a good call and not at all something that he would have thought to do himself. "But. What do we do with him now?" He eyed the enormous man warily.

"I got it." Sirius waved over the barmaid. "Madame Rosmerta, still beautiful as ever." He gave a winning smile to the, still not unattractive for her age, proprietor.

She shook her head at him. "What have you done to the poor old professor, Black?" She asked in good nature jutting her thumb at the sleeping man.

"He has simply enjoyed himself a little too much. Any chance you've got a room upstairs available? He could sleep it off? I'll pay." Sirius held up a hand palm out to imply his honor.

She pursed her lips at him. "Yeah. Alright. Wouldn't be the first time he's woken up here." She pulled out her wand and levitated his body. It took some negotiation with the way that the man was wedged into the booth to get him out. It was rather amusing watching him get floated up the stairs by the woman.

"Have a history with her, do you?" Harry asked smiling.

"Ah. She was the first to capture my heart." Sirius held a mocking hand to his chest. "Gave me my first proper drink way back when. Well. The first one at an establishment anyways. And there's just something about her. The take-no-prisoners attitude. Like she can handle herself." He smirked. "She's also quite a looker. And she's kept her figure."

"Don't you have a woman." Remus mused.

"Maybe I was pointing it out for your sake." Sirius teased. Remus merely narrowed his eyes in response.

"So, are we going to tell Dumbledore?" Harry asked. "I mean, he said it didn't he? Seven." He worried. They knew for sure of three of them now, with a potential fourth still in Sirius' vault somewhere in the shape of a chalice. Possibly a fifth with the ring that Sirius mentioned from the Horace Slughorn memory and of Tom Riddle's grandfather.

"Eventually." Sirius offered up hesitantly. "I mean. He said something about that... family home." He squinted at Remus.

Remus nodded. "Well then." He put his hands on the table indicating he was ready to go. "I've had enough, and you two have the Ministry in the morning."

"Back to ours?" Sirius asked him.

Harry liked the sound of that. Sirius calling his home 'ours', meaning it belonged to both he and Sirius.

()()()

It was sappy, but he missed Ginny. It hadn't even been two full days, but he'd gotten so used to having her around all the time. He sent Hedwig off with a letter for her last night after they'd gotten back from the pub and received one back this morning. Just filling each other in on their days, it wasn't anything earth shattering on her end and he hadn't want to go into details about what had happened at the Three Broomsticks last night.

Today he was heading into the Ministry with Sirius and he was nervous about it. Sirius was adopting him.

Like, actually adopting him.

It was weird, because he was so close to being a proper adult in the wizarding world.

He'd also been basically responsible for himself since as far back as he could remember.

He'd been cooking and cleaning for the Dursleys since he was old enough to reach the knobs at the back of the oven without pulling a chair over. And while he was away from them at school it was like they didn't even exist, and he was just... him. No family whatsoever. If something went wrong in the wizarding world it wasn't like they would be able to help him out anyways. Perhaps that was the same way for Hermione and the other Muggleborns, but she at least exchanged letters with her parents throughout the year.

He was responsible for his own finances, apparently he had properties and investments and all that too. He got his own school supplies, replaced his robes and such as needed by himself. The only part that the Dursleys had was signing off his permission slip for Hogsmeade, and it had only been needed that one time, even that had been a trial.

Now he had someone wanting to be a parent figure.

Sirius had welcomed him into his home, given him an enormous bedroom, taken him to talk to the Goblins. He'd bought him clothes and Quidditch equipment. He'd arranged his holidays to include family type persons. It was an adjustment, and one that he was trying not to think too hard about. But even that was difficult to do when times were quiet.

It had been wonderful to read the stories about his dad Sirius had given him back at the start of November, and great to hear from both Remus and Sirius when they were sitting around. Hearing stories of his parents from their former potions' professor had been fun too.

Aunt Petunia never talked about his mum. He also never heard her talking about her childhood at all, her only priority had been her dinky diddydums and what the neighbors might think of the foliage in the yard.

When it came to this adoption though, he'd had all kinds of questions pop into his head over the last few days at random times. Like, would he have to change his name to Black?

No.

Remus had assured him yesterday when he'd asked at lunch. He was staying a Potter. This was technically called an adoption, but it was really a guardianship change. That's why he wasn't a Dursley either. He would be allowed access to the Black vault and should Sirius pass on without having any biological children then Harry would be his successor.

Harry was still feeling slightly conflicted. He didn't know if his parents would want him to be 'adopted'. Even if it was by his Godfather. But he was certain that they would have wanted him away from the oppressive environment he'd actually been raised in. No parent could want that kind of neglect inflicted on their child. He'd lived in a closet for the first several years, possibly since he was dumped with them.

Really, he felt most odd because he'd only just started looking into his family history on the Potter side, and now he was gaining a parent figure that wasn't one. Harry was kicking himself. He should have investigated his family history as soon as he found out he was a wizard and he hadn't. He blamed it on being young and not knowing any better.

Sirius was turning out to be great so far though.

His parents had chosen for him to be his Godfather for a reason, which meant that they trusted him. And Harry really liked him. He was quirky, charming, mischievous and really just a big kid at heart, but he also had done and seen a lot in his time. Azkaban surely had a lasting effect somewhere there. He'd already admitted to Harry that he needed those three years with the Weasley family to heal, and Harry could completely understand that having been to the Burrow four times now himself. Each of those visits had been... well, magical for lack of a better word.

If he'd been wrongfully imprisoned for eleven years around those soul sucking Dementors and found himself in a place like that, he would have wound up being a little selfish and sticking with them too.

Nothing bad had happened to Harry with Sirius having chosen to stay there and heal either. And Sirius had still been a wanted man, what could he have possibly done about Harry's situation?

Life had really been looking up for Harry lately and he was trying to squash this odd longing feeling in his chest for the parent's he didn't remember.

Their stories were all he had left of them now.

If Ginny was with him right then, he could have told her all that and she would have listened and comforted him. Not that he really needed comforting, but it was just turning into a more emotional day that he'd thought it would be, and he hadn't even done anything yet.

Due to the privacy allowed to him by his expansive empty bedroom he gave a big dramatic sigh for his ears only and felt a little better.

He could do this.

It was just a step by step thing. If he didn't think about the meaning behind it all then it was just a simple signature type situation in front of a Notary Public, or whatever the Ministry of Magic equivalent is.

At least, that's what he thought was going to happen. He wasn't quite sure.

Now he wished he'd asked Hermione. She'd probably know all about it.

He shrugged on one of his new jumpers and went downstairs. He was heading to the Ministry with Sirius for mid-morning and had excused himself claiming he wanted to finish an essay after breakfast so he could have a think about it all. Now his time was up. No more thinking, it was 'do' o'clock.

"All set?" Sirius asked when he reached the sitting room. "Got your wand?"

Harry thought that was a rather ridiculous question. He didn't go anywhere without his wand since he first received it. But he patted his pocket none the less and checked his other pocket to make sure he had the paperwork he'd wanted to bring along with him. "Got it."

Sirius tilted his head slightly. "We should go and get you a want holster for your arm after."

Harry's eyebrows went up. That'd be cool, then he wouldn't have to worry about it poking out of his pocket or accidentally sitting on it. "Alright." He gave a nervous half smile.

If Sirius caught on to how nervous Harry was then he wasn't saying anything. Perhaps he was nervous too, he was kind of gaining a son today. "Okay. Let's get going. We have an appointment and wouldn't want to look bad by showing up late."

"You've, er, got all the paperwork and everything?" Harry nodded towards Sirius' pocket.

He was wearing a blazer instead of his jacket, probably trying to look more official and presentable. His jacket was a leather one and didn't exactly scream 'father figure', well, maybe the motorcycle-riding/help-me-change-the-brakes-on-this-car kind.

"Got em'." He assured and held out the pot from on top of the mantle with the Floo powder for Harry to go first.

Harry stepped to the fireplace and threw in the powder. "Ministry of Magic Atrium." He shouted and swirled off.

He coughed as he stumbled out of the correct grate and beat off the soot that had collected on his journey. Floo was great with how quick it was, but it was damn disorienting and uncomfortable.

His eyes caught on the dark wood of the Atrium floor then drifted over to the gilded fireplaces, then up to the blue ceiling with golden symbols moving across it. He'd never been here before and had assumed that any government building would be _a little_ ostentatious, but as his eyes drifted over to the golden statues of a witch and wizard with various creatures in a pool of water, he had to wonder how much money had been spent to build up this particular building.

Sirius came through a different grate and guided him over to the security stand for them to hand over their wands.

"Gave him my wanted poster last time." Sirius winked at Harry before giving the guard a cheeky smile.

The guard, whose embroidered badge read 'E. Munch' pursed his lips in recognition. "Purpose of your visit." Clearly, he wasn't as amused with that as Sirius had been.

"Visiting Harley Gordon, Department of Magical Law Enforcement." Sirius replied. "She is expecting us."

Mister Munch checked something on his desk and then did a double take on Harry before Harry saw that 'Oh!' moment cross his face. It had been a while since that happened.

"Right. Well. Here are your visitor badges." The guard returned their wands and handed over silver visitor badges waving them towards the lifts. "Level two."

"Well thank you so much kind sir." Sirius prostrated before heading over to the lift. Harry followed in behind him trying and failing to hide his amusement with Sirius' handling of the guard. He would have loved to see the face the guard made when he used his wanted poster as proof of identity.

"So, just one floor up?" Harry asked when they were standing in front of the lift.

"No, we're going to the second floor, we're currently on the eight."

"What?" Harry asked confused. "But." He looked around. There weren't any windows looking out into the street, but he'd just assumed that a building's entrance was on the 'ground floor'. He sighed, magic was so confusing. "So, is this even the lowest floor?"

"No." Sirius looked at him confused. "There are two levels below us."

"Like basement levels?" It wasn't important information, but he was curious.

"No, the Department of Mysteries, then level ten with the courtrooms for hearings and the Wizengamut."

It took great will power to not roll his eyes. Why must everything in this world be so convoluted? One thing at a time though. They had to go uo to floor two. And now he was trying to figure out where this building was. Was it even a building or more of an elaborate bunker? And wasn't it supposed to be in London? Was there a missing level because that's where part of the Underground Tubes were running?

They stepped into the lift with a few other people. It stopped at level 7 and a female voice rang out "Department of Magical Games and Sports." That was another thing that always caught him up. Wouldn't it be just Games and Sports? Ron didn't even know what football was before Dean introduced him, so why preface the 'magical'?

The next floor up a few paper airplanes came in from the Department of Magical Transportation and Harry stared up at them. All were regular parchment except for one that was a crimson color, he assumed that one was important. It was letting off a little puff of smoke every few seconds. No one else in the lift found this at all interesting, not even Sirius.

At level two he and Sirius were two of only four people left in the lift and the only two that exited.

"What's on the top floor?" He was pretty sure that they'd been going up and not down.

"Administration and the Minister of Magic offices." A petite blonde woman answered. It looked like she'd been waiting for them. "Harley Gordon." She held her hand out for Harry.

"Er, Harry Potter." He shook her hand.

She turned to Sirius and they shook hands too. "Pleased to meet you. Well, follow me. We've got a private meeting room so we can get this all official."

"Will the Department Head be signing off on this?" Sirius asked hesitantly as they followed behind her.

She hadn't led them very far before reaching for a door handle and swinging it inward to reveal a room with a cumbersome shiny meeting table with four comfortable swivel chairs and a small fireplace at the far end. "She will be joining us at the end to sign off on everything herself. Oh." She exclaimed and waved her wand to add a fifth chair.

Harry went forward and took the chair farthest away from the door.

"I've also asked for an Auror to join us, but I assure you that they are completely reliable and will not be blabbing to the press about this." Harley took the seat across from Harry, Sirius the one beside him.

"How sure?" Sirius asked just before the door popped open again and a young purple haired woman came in wearing a black leather jacket with silver buttons. She was the spitting image of a Gothic Muggle girl with her eyebrow ring, save for the bright smile on her face.

"Wotcher." She greeted them. "They call me Tonks round here." She held a hand out for Sirius. "Cousin."

Sirius face instantly lost the hardened look he'd adorned when they came in the room. "Ah! You're Andromeda's girl." He waved off the hand and came around the table to give her a hug. "Love the hair."

"Thanks. It's usually pink." She said cheekily and instantly it turned pink.

"Cool." Harry couldn't help himself from commenting.

"Harry." Sirius gestured. "This is my cousin Andromeda's daughter. We're going to theirs tomorrow." He looked over to Harley. "Thank you for asking her instead of someone else."

She nodded pleasantly. "Thought you might appreciate it." She gestured for everyone to take their seats. "Now then. You have some documentation for me?"

It didn't take long for the whole process. Harry barely had to do anything other than nod, and with the legal jargon being passed back and forth between Miss Gordon and Sirius he was quite content to sit there and look like he knew what was going on. He understood the gist. Sirius was going to be his guardian officially and he got to keep his Surname. Sign here, date there. Done.

There was a knock at the door just as it looked like they were finishing up with the official signing and another woman came into the room. She looked rather pleasant and dressed in a smart way that would fit in in both the Muggle and Magical world.

"Hello." She greeted Harry directly. "I am Amelia Bones." She came around the table and shook his hand, taking up the seat at the head. "I am the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Harry couldn't stop his eyebrows from shooting up and his jaw going slack. She was so young. And rather pretty. He'd always imagined jobs like that going to crotchety old farts that had 'seen some things' in their time.

"Not to worry. I've certainly put in my time with the Auror's." She chuckled at his response. "This job is mostly paper pushing and hand holding. With a little biting." She added to be amusing.

"Sorry." Harry blushed at his uncontrolled reaction. "I'm not doubting your qualifications. I was just surprised."

She didn't look offended, she just took the documentation offered to her by Miss Gordon and added her own signature after a short perusal.

"Alright." She said at the final dating of the last document. "Congratulations Mister Black, you are now a proud official guardian of one Harry Potter." She gave him a demure look that confused Harry. "Anything else we can help you with today?" This time she asked Harry directly.

"Uh. I don't know if you're the right person to ask, but um." He looked more towards Tonks and Miss Gordon. "I just found out that I actually own the house that my Aunt and Uncle live in. And I was living in until, well, now, I guess. Anyways. There was this stipulation that the Deed be given to them directly once I become of age and still reside under that roof. Well. Now that I don't, I want to just give them the Deed and be done with it." Sirius made a small protesting noise, but Harry ignored it. "I have the Deed, and it's pretty specific that if I leave before I am of age then they don't get the Deed, but I wanted to just give it to them anyways."

He pulled it out of his pocket and put it on the table.

Miss Gordon reached over and picked it up. "That is quite nice of you Mister Potter."

Harry felt an involuntary facial twitch that he saw Tonks notice. She leaned over in her chair and read the Deed over Miss Gordon's shoulder. "Just the Deed?" Tonks asked after a minute. "Not the repayment?"

"Just the Deed." Harry insisted. "Any work done on the house was their own choice." He stated, referring to the upkeep reimbursement.

"And the child expenses?" Miss Gordon asked.

"They really didn't have any. I um." He swallowed hard, not really wanting to mention this part, but wanting them to understand also. "I believe I worked that off myself with tasks around the house."

All three of the women's' eyes turned to him sharply. They'd understood what he'd been eluding to.

"May I?" Miss Bones held out her hand for the document and gave it a quick read. "Well. Then I'd say you are being quite generous. This does specifically state that they are to receive the Deed once you become of age under their guardianship. Hmm. Interesting." She paused and did a quick re-read. "Well. Now that you are under Mister Black's guardianship, he can sign off on this if you wish." She didn't elaborate of what she found 'interesting'.

"It's what he wants." Sirius backed.

"Alright then." Miss Bones gave Harry a pleasant, but obviously forced smile. "I think that Miss Gordon and Tonks here can let them know themselves." She looked at the two other women imploringly. They both nodded. "Well then. It's a bit short notice to do that today. Ladies, if you wouldn't mind letting them know first thing on... Thursday I'd say with the New Year in front of us."

The two of them nodded in agreement. "I'll just pop out and grab the paperwork to get that going." Miss Gordon got up and left the room.

"You don't need me for that bit." Miss Bones rose as well. "Mister Potter." She held out her hand. "It is really good to see you, and I'm sure we'll meet again."  
Harry shook her hand and saw her glance over at Sirius and nod at him before taking her leave.

"She's been a little more relaxed lately." Tonks shared after she'd left, her hair turning back to purple.

"How are you doing that?" Harry couldn't help himself from asking.

"Metamorphmagus." She beamed. "I can change my appearance at will." She morphed into Miss Gordon.

Harry had to laugh. While both women were roughly the same size, Miss Gordon looked rather out of place in Tonk's clothes.

The door opened again and Miss Gordon came in. "Stop that." She told Tonks with an air that told him it wasn't the first time she'd had to tell Tonks not to look like her. Tonks winked once at Harry before turning back into herself. Or at least what he assumed was herself.

Just a few minutes later and he and Sirius were back in front of the lifts. It hadn't been such a daunting experience after all. Harry was quite grateful that he'd only had a few days heads up for all this rather than a few weeks. It would have eaten away at his stomach thinking about how it could have gone if those women hadn't been so open and easy to get on with.

"Alright?" Sirius asked.

Harry gave a contented sigh. "Pretty great actually." He grinned.

The lift doors dinged open. "Harry!" Came a surprised familiar voice from inside the lift.

"Hermione?" Harry asked confused and went forward to greet her with a smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh Harry." She had a wild look to her eye that she normally got after finding a new spell or a fascinating angle to an essay. "I've discovered something!"


	16. Happy New Year

"Hermione. What. What are you doing here?" Harry asked, trying to figure out if he was actually seeing her there. For a wild moment he wondered if it might be Tonks playing a joke. If she'd been able to nail that crazed look that Hermione got though when she'd been studying for days and finally cracked something, well, that'd really be impressive.

"I've been researching!" She beamed.

Yep. That was definitely Hermione.

"Hello, Sirius! So good to see you again." She greeted him as he joined them on the lift then blinked a few times pulling back slightly, seemingly remembering herself. "What are the two of you doing here? Not in trouble, are you?" She asked in concern, registering what floor of the Ministry they were on.

"No. Nothing like that." Sirius chuckled. "Do you want to tell her?" He asked Harry.

Harry grinned. He was feeling much more confident about it all. It hadn't changed anything between them. He was still Harry Potter, and Sirius was still Sirius Black. The only thing that really changed was his holiday address. "Sirius is now my official guardian." Harry said proudly.

"Oh!" Her hand went to her mouth. "That's wonderful!" She jumped up and down once and then threw her arms around Harry.

Harry chuckled and gave her a hug back. "But what's going on with you?"

"Well." She said pulling back and becoming more solemn. "Maybe here isn't the best place." The door to the lift had just opened again on floor three, Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, and a few people got on.

"It's getting on lunch time." Sirius offered looking at his watch. "Can we take you out somewhere and you two can catch up?"

"That would be lovely." Hermione accepted. "I'd love to have lunch with the two of you. I've been holed up at home this whole holiday, and now even my parents have their office open today so the company would be a nice little break."

There was a proper restaurant on a posh side street just down from Gringotts off Diagon Alley, Sirius took the two of them there and put up a privacy spell.

"Tom Riddle." Hermione said with wide and excited eyes after they gave their food order to the server.

Harry felt his stomach drop slightly. Of course, she'd been spending her holidays trying to figure out who Voldemort was. She was still working on her project of pulling together a book about the last war. He was cringing internally knowing all he would now be able to tell her if he could.

Sirius choked on his water a bit and her eyes turned to him. "You knew?" She asked surprised.

"Er." Harry started. "We just found out a few days ago." Hermione looked frozen as she processed her thoughts. How much work had she done into trying to figure out his past, he wasn't sure, but it couldn't have been looking something up on a simple registry.

"We?" She asked slowly.

Sirius said nothing, just gave Harry an imploring look. Harry had told Ginny what had been happening with the former Tom Riddle, but not Neville nor Ron, and he hadn't even seen Hermione. Sirius didn't know Hermione, and he wouldn't have any idea why she would be so thoroughly researching his history. He knew about all of the Daily Prophets and Quibblers from two months ago, but not that Hermione was pulling together a book about what they'd discovered. She may have mentioned it to Remus while Sirius was still staying on in his suite, but saying something and following through are two different things.

Sirius also didn't know Hermione like he knew Ginny. "Harry." He said cautiously.

"She's my best friend." Harry replied simply.

"And Peter Pettigrew was mine." He said sadly.

Both Harry and Hermione sucked in a breath at that.

"I'm sorry." Sirius held up his hand in a placating manner for her. "I'm sure you are a lovely girl, and from the little I know about you, quite bright. But there are some things we've learned about Tom Riddle recently that are best not shared with the masses. And as close as you are to Harry, to _me_ you are the masses."

Hermione observed him a moment with pursed lips taking in what he had said. She didn't seem offended, just like she might be looking for a loophole or a way to prove herself. "Well." She said finally. "There's nothing stopping me from telling you what I've learned."

Harry smiled at her resolve and gave Sirius a proud look. Hermione had been a great and reliable friend all these years and he was rather relieved that Sirius hadn't offended her with his hesitancy. Sirius seemed to relax slightly at her offer. There would be no harm in learning what information she'd come across, and it could be helpful to them.

That slight movement of Sirius' relaxing shoulders was all she needed to start into her story of going back through everything they had known and assumed about Voldemort after all of the Daily Prophet articles. She'd gone further back in the archives and then figured out his age, then checked some school records, making the assumption that he'd been a Slytherin. It was after playing the game of Scrabble with her father that she realized that the name Voldemort could potentially be an anagram and had looked into a few of the registered Slytherins from the early 40's and after eliminating several options she finally figured out that it was Tom Riddle, former Hogwarts Head Boy that had been responsible for the last war.

"Now I'm looking into everything I can get my hands on about his early history and the build up to when he finally emerged as 'Lord Voldemort'." She finished, only having taken a breath when the server delivered their food.

Harry really admired her. She was so able to focus and work and work until she solved her problems. "So. The anagram?"

"Oh." She snickered. "It's actually rather juvenile." She laughed. "He must have come up with it when he was quite young but see; his middle name is 'Marvolo' and when you rearrange all of the letters in his name it becomes 'I am Lord Voldemort'."

"You're shitting me." Sirius' jaw dropped slightly, and he couldn't help contributing to the conversation.

"I know." Hermione tried to hide her mirth.

Harry too was quite floored by that. It was a rather childish thing to do, but Tom Riddle certainly had made it work for him. There were still several people that were too scared to even whisper his name. It was like stage actors and the taboo around saying Macbeth, but on a more extreme level.

"So that's what I was doing at the Ministry this morning." She continued. "Looking into his history and such. I'll be doing more research at Hogwarts of course, but it is so much better to get information straight from the administrative offices at the Ministry directly." She looked wistful about having been in the office space. She may have been picturing herself there in just two years, clerking for some big ministry executive like Harley Gordon.

"Now then, do you know what he did after Hogwarts?" Sirius asked leaning forward and appearing far less weary of Hermione's potential motives that he had been twenty minutes ago.

She nodded enthusiastically. "He worked for Flourish and Blotts and did some free-lance work for Borgin and Burkes in acquisitions."

"That makes sense." Sirius looked thoughtful.

"What's Borgin and Burkes?" Harry asked. It sounded like a law firm.

"They purchase and sell dangerous goods on Knockturn Alley." Sirius explained. "They'd be interested in the hard to acquire and slightly priceless artifacts."

"Oh." Harry clued in. That would have been where he'd gotten a lot of his information and contacts for his Horcrux artifacts. The Flourish and Blotts job would have allowed him access to the history books that would have been too expensive for a former orphan to have purchased as well.

"Oh, what?" Hermione regarded them critically. "You just made some kind of connection."

Harry felt guilty. He was positive she wouldn't use this information to try and harm people, she just wanted the information because she found it fascinating. He looked over to Sirius for guidance.

His Godfather let out a sigh. "If you can get Dumbledore to tell you what we're looking for, then we will tell you the rest. How is that?" He negotiated.

Hermione sat up a little straighter at the mention of her Headmaster. She very much respected Albus Dumbledore. "That's fair." She conceded.

Harry watched her carefully though. She appeared to have gotten a lot more from Sirius' last statement than simply the words he'd used.

"Anyways." She continued on. "I've been looking into his family as well. His mother died during child birth, she was a witch, but it seems her Muggle husband had cast her aside when she started showing some of the signs of magic that women give off during pregnancy. At least that's what I've guessed. I'm not one hundred percent sure how she wound up alone in a Muggle orphanage. Particularly since records show that her father and brother were alive at the time."

She was getting into one of her one sided conversations. She'd discovered quite a lot about Tom Riddle. And Harry hadn't known that pregnancy was different for witches than it was for muggles, he found that interesting too. She must have been buried in archives at the Ministry this whole holiday to figure this all out. She had just told them she hadn't known who Voldemort really was before Christmas.

"Tracking down who his maternal family was had been rather difficult with only 'Marvolo' to potentially go off of, but I managed to find several issues with a Marvolo Gaunt and his two children Morfin and Merope. Merope was Tom Riddle's mother. And the only way I actually found all that out was because I was searching for more in relation to Tom Riddle and found out that Morfin Gaunt was thrown in Azkaban for killing a Tom Riddle Senior, a Nobel muggle and no doubt his former Brother-in-Law. However, that murder actually occurred when our Tom Riddle Junior was about sixteen."

"Breathe, Hermione." Harry stopped her.

She did pause at his insistence and sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

"This is all incredible." Sirius stated incredulously. "You've figured this out in just a week?"

"Well." She blushed slightly. "I'm very good at research. I went into the records hall on Friday as soon as it opened, and then went over everything I'd learned this weekend. Today I was just double-checking things. And after lunch today I was going to head down to look at the records for the orphanage he'd been raised in."

"To what end?" Harry asked. "You already know he was raised there until he went off to Hogwarts. What are you hoping to find?"

"If I'm going to get a well-rounded history of him then I want to start from infancy." She said like it should be obvious. "He was there during his summers from Hogwarts too. There might be notes on what he was like as a child. School records from when he went to primary, notes about if he had any friends. Health records even!"

"And you know where it is?" Sirius asked, now sounding concerned for her safety.

"I know where it _was_." She corrected. "It isn't there anymore. It was torn down, but all of the records would have been moved to a storage facility by the district and I'm going to talk to one of the people that work for the council to get the location tracked down."

It sounded like a tedious and daunting task, but she seemed quite excited about it.

"Now then." She relaxed and finally picked up her fork. "Tell me about your Christmas. You said you were getting your guardianship changed this morning?"

The two men stared at her for a moment before they registered her abrupt change of topic. "Yes." Harry picked up after his brain caught up with her. "And we visited with the Goblins last week about the Potter vaults and such. Turns out I have three property titles, including the house I grew up in." He pursed his lips a bit.

'What?" Hermione asked dangerously. "You owned the house that those horrible relatives of yours have been living in?"

It was the same reaction he was getting from everyone. "Yes. And I'm just signing it over to them. I don't want to see it ever again if I don't have to." She opened her mouth, but he raised a hand to stop her. "Please, I've heard all kinds of arguments for what else I could have done but this is how I'm choosing to deal with it."

She nodded reluctantly. "What about the other two properties?"

"Haven't seen them yet. One was the one my parents lived in when. With. When it happened." He managed. "I haven't seen that one, or the one by Cambridge."

"That one was Potter Manor." Sirius told them. "It's lovely, or it was when I was growing up. I lived there for a summer when I was in school. And the majority of the summers until then as well." He turned to Harry. "Maybe we should go and visit it on Wednesday? Might be a nice way to start off the new year."

"That'd be great." He smiled. "Mind if I bring Ginny?"

"You mean the future Lady Potter?" Sirius teased. "Yeah, sure."

Hermione looked like she was still biting her tongue over the Dursley's getting their house after treating Harry so poorly but was willing to put a pin in that for later. "You went to the Weasley's for Christmas then?" She asked tentatively.

"Yeah." Harry beamed. "It was great. I was there Friday and Saturday too. Neville came and we all played with Kenneth in the snow."

"And how did Ron seem?" She was looking down at her plate.

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "Uh. A little, um. Sad. But you know. Dealing." He told her awkwardly.

"Dealing?" She asked, raising her eyes to him. "He told you?" She asked sadly, then cast an embarrassed look at Sirius briefly.

"Uh, Ginny actually. Then Ron confirmed it." He admitted. "But. You know we'll all be okay. It'll probably just be a little awkward for a bit."

"He. He decided then?" Her breath hitched.

Now Harry felt frozen. Had Ron said they were broken up? Hadn't that been what Hermione wanted? Quickly he went back over his conversation with Ron in his room the other day. And with his comment about Daphne Greengrass just before Luna made an appearance at the Burrow. It had seemed like he was leaning towards breaking up, but he hadn't actually said it.

"Uh. I can neither confirm nor deny actually." He told her honestly. "I saw he was making a pro/con list. But, honestly, you tell a bloke that you feel like it isn't working. Were you expecting him to, I dunno, fight for you?" He asked quizzically.

Hermione blushed. "I. I don't know." She frowned. "I'm not sure what I expected. He hasn't written me."

"Have you written him?" Harry asked, now noting how Sirius had taken a great interest in his food, and very little in the conversation. He probably didn't need to hear about teen relationship drama when there were some very important happenings going on in his life.

"I've been too busy." She blatantly lied. Yes she'd been busy, but not too busy that she couldn't manage a simple letter.

"Hermione." Harry moaned. "Do you want to be with him, or not?" How hard was it? He didn't have any question about whether or not he wanted to be with Ginny.

She let out a groan and rested back in her seat. "Fine. I think we'd be better suited as friends. No doubt there are other girls that he could move on with. There are certainly enough showing interest." She added bitterly.

Harry tried his best to school his reaction to that, but there was no doubt the concern for how his friends were going to get along once they were all back at school was apparent on his face.

"So then, Hermione." Sirius started, putting his knife and fork together on his empty plate. "All this research you are doing into his past. You are wanting to formulate it into some kind of book?" He changed the conversation back to something he was interested in.

"I'm not entirely sure anymore." She said picking at her chips in thought, switching gears. "I'd thought a book on the last war would be interesting, and now all this information on who 'He' really was is entirely interesting. But the thing about books is that not a lot of people read them. Unless you have an amazing publisher or fantastical stories like Gildroy Lockhart had. So, I'm wondering if a smaller scale might be a better option. Like trying to sell the idea to a magazine for a several part series." She shrugged. "I mean. I have to write it first, so maybe I'm getting ahead of myself."

"Well. As Albus was known to be the one person he was afraid of, I'd get his input on it all." He encouraged. "And I would be very interested to read anything you come up with on it."

Hermione glowed with pride and determination at that.

()()()

Sirius side-along apparated Harry to his cousin's house for their New Year's Eve get together.

They'd spent the morning going through the Gringotts vault. Now that Harry was a Black in the technical sense Sirius had him added to the list of those that could access the vault. Remus had been able to search with him because he was of age, but due to Harry being both under age and unrelated if he'd touched anything it would have been very unpleasant.

The morning at Gringotts had been fruitless. They'd managed to scour a good quarter of the vault but would be going back in a few days to look searched for two hours before giving up the quest for the cup for the day.

There was no immediate rush to get their hands on it, and there still wasn't confirmation that this Chalice was one of the Horcruxes. Harry just hoped that they did find it before he had to go back to school. He also hoped that when he got back to school that Dumbledore would let him view the memories that Sirius and Remus had seen.

And Hermione.

After parting ways with her yesterday he and Sirius went into the Muggle world and took in a movie then went for a wander around before grabbing dinner and then heading home. It had been nice having some casual bonding time. The server at dinner last night had mistakenly called Harry Sirius' son, they shared a look but didn't correct the assumption

He didn't see what the harm would be if Hermione did see the memories or know how Tom Riddle became Lord Voldemort. If everyone knew what he'd done, then maybe he wouldn't be so revered. He'd just be a sad old murderous man that had destroyed his life with Dark Magic. He'd be a warning to anyone else willing to try it.

Hermione had found out so much on her own and he could only imagine how vehemently she'd fight to get her hands on all the missing information.

"Sirius! Harry! Welcome." A woman in her late forties opened the door with long black curly hair and soft features.

"Andromeda! So good to see you." Sirius stepped forward and gave her a hug. "Harry, this is my favorite cousin." He led Harry forward by the elbow.

"Thank you for inviting me." He gave her a polite smile and heard another pop of Apparation behind him that must have been Remus.

"Andy!" Remus came into the foyer and closed the door behind him. "It's been quite a few years, and yet you look exactly the same." He charmed her.

Harry couldn't help but notice he was looking and feeling much better than he had over the last few days. He must have spent the entire previous day sleeping and recovering. Or perhaps he took a Pepper-Up Potion to look more human for the get together.

"Remus Lupin. Good to see you too." She ignored his flirt and gathered up Harry and Sirius' jacket to hang in the front closet. "Come on through, Ted and Dora are probably sneaking dessert in the kitchen."

Harry was keen to see Tonks, or Dora, again. She'd been really cool yesterday, and he was hoping she'd do a few more morphs for his entertainment.

The three men followed Andromeda through to the kitchen where they were met with the smiling faces of dessert thieves, who were decidedly looking too innocent. "Ted, Dora." Andromeda started, ignoring the antics of her family. "You remember Sirius. And this is Remus and Harry. Remus, Harry. My husband Ted and my daughter Dora."

'Dora's' hair was simply brown today and it hung down in soft waves just past her shoulders. Her eyebrow ring was still in place, but she had changed into a nice party dress, probably at her mother's insistence as she'd looked quite comfortable in her gothic-style get up yesterday.

"Hello there." Ted smiled at all of them and stepped around the kitchen island to shake their hands.

"Heyya." Dora followed her dad and gave Harry a quick and familiar one-armed hug. "Great that you're here. We need plenty of help eating all the food mum has whipped up." She shook Remus' hand and gave a nod to Sirius.

Ted got them all drinks and then showed them into the sitting room where the conversation was immediately filled with what Sirius had been doing since his release and his plans for the future.

"Professional Lay-about for the next few months is all I have planned right now." He answered honestly. "Can't imagine the career I'd been heading for as an Auror would go over very well." He joked. "I'm in no big hurry to find out what comes next." He shrugged.

"That has always been your go to setting." Remus stated. "He was this cavalier about it in school too."

"Always had you there to keep me on track though. Otherwise who knows what would have happened."

"You'd have a whole pile of illegitimate children running around is what." Remus commented. "Had to remind you about that charm every time you were about to go on a 'date'."

"And he never had to remind you?" Dora asked with a smirk and a keen eye zero'd in on Remus.

"Mister Manners?" Sirius scoffed. "Never. He would never forget something important like that!"

Harry wondered when the last time would have been that his professor had a girlfriend. He hadn't mentioned one and didn't seem that close with any of the female professors that were close to his age. Harry very much doubted that there might have been something going on with he and Trelawney. Though there had been a major secret he hadn't know about his favorite professor until just a week ago, so who knew.

"And Harry?" Ted picked up, trying to change the conversation.

"Already made sure he's covered in that area." Sirius joked to Harry's mortification.

Thankfully Ted ignored Sirius' comment, as did everyone else. "You are in your sixth year of Hogwarts?" Ted clarified where his questioning was going.

"Yes. Still not sure what I want to do after though. We did the career counseling with our Head of House's last year and I made sure I had all the classes for Auror training just in case, but." He shrugged. Then turned to Dora. "How long have you been an Auror?"

"Started into training right out of school. That was three years and I've been a fully trained Auror for four years. It's been hard, interesting and a lot of paperwork." She admitted. "But when there is proper work to be done it is quite fulfilling. If you are seriously interested, then I could see about you doing a job shadowing in the summer." She offered.

"Really?!" Harry was incredibly interested in that. No doubt he wouldn't be following Auror's out on missions or anything, but he would hear more about what the job truly entails. Thus far he'd only heard fantastical stories that sounded more like an action movie. No doubt there were several down sides to the job as well.

"That would be pretty amazing." Sirius added his two cents. "You think you could really arrange that?"

"Sure." She shrugged. "Wouldn't hurt to ask. There are a ridiculous number of applicants to the Auror program that think the job will turn out to be some exciting minefield of adventure, then after they've been trained up, we lose them to some other department. I think I could convince Amelia, er, Miss Bones to implement a shadow program to weed out some of the less committed applicants."

"She seemed really nice." Harry remembered. "I really wasn't expecting someone so... well. Young. As the Department Head."

"She's young, sure, but she's the best at cutting through bureaucratic bullshit."

"Dora." Her mother scolded her language.

"And." Dora continued, ignoring her mother. "She did spend some time in the field herself and knows what we're up against sometimes. She took over the position a year after I'd started fully, and I've seen some great improvements."

"You seem really dedicated." Remus told her admiringly. "It's nice to see."

"I'm just glad it is a much different world now that it was back during the last war. You had no idea who's side people were truly on then." Andromeda said.

"Too true." Sirius nodded. "Even the ones you were sure were light were dark, and vice versa."

"Subject change." Ted cut in. "It's New Years. Let's discuss something pleasant. Harry!" He focused in. "Have you got a girlfriend?"

Harry blushed and smiled. "Yeah. Ginny. She was actually Sirius' 'owner' for a while." He chuckled, glad to have found a way to spin that topic change back on someone else. Sirius told him they already knew about where he'd been for the three years he was in hiding, and he'd trusted them enough to keep it to themselves.

"Oh! A Weasley then?" Dora asked excitedly. "I remember her brother Bill, Merlin he was attractive." She leaned back in her seat looking wistful. "Head Boy in my fifth year." She explained.

The room chuckled a bit at her outburst.

"Well, he lives in Egypt right now working for Gringotts as a Curse Breaker." Sirius told her. "You could pack up and trail off after him if you want." He teased.

"Nah. There are plenty of blokes close by that could take up the task." She deflected and threw a wink at Remus.

Remus had been taking a sip of his drink then and coughed at her actions, then chose not to say anything.

"Dora." Her mother warned again.

"I remember Molly and Arthur. They were lovely. How many children did they wind up with? Think it was five the last time I properly spoke to Arthur." Ted asked Sirius.

"Seven." Sirius beamed. "Ginny was their last. Molly was adamant that she wanted a girl, so they kept going until they got one."

"Which I'm eternally grateful for." Harry couldn't stop himself from saying. "She's amazing."

"This one's in love with her." Sirius reached over and gave him a patronizing pinch to his cheek.

()()()

Ginny groaned. She had been feeling human again before that Floo trip. And once again there wasn't anyone in the sitting room. With a grumble she plopped herself on the couch and rested her head back against the arm.

Her hang over had been full force this morning keeping her in bed until just after nine. Considering she had been up until after two, that wasn't such a crazy lie in, but Harry had asked her over so that she would accompany him in seeing his family property with Sirius.

She wasn't going to miss that, no matter how much her head was pounding and stomach was turning.

Really, she blamed the twins. They were the idiots that started the game of 'Never Have I Ever'. Now Ron and the Twins knew way too much of what she'd been getting up to with Harry, and that she'd broken into Filch's office. Damn the twins. They had slipped her a truth serum, they must have. She would have never said anything about her sex life otherwise.

And why would they want to know? She certainly didn't need to know what Fred had gotten up to with some loose Muggle girl he'd lost his virginity to on a night out in London.

She'd warned them of what would happen if they started in on Harry about any of it, even pulled her wand and gave George a little demonstration since he was usually the instigator out of the two of them. Hopefully that had been enough to know to take her threats seriously.

Lucky the Trace didn't register under the Burrow roof because of their homeschooling otherwise that would have been an interesting one to explain to her parents.

With only twenty minutes to pull herself together before she had promised to arrive at Grimmauld Place she managed to vomit in the loo, wash her face, brush her teeth and throw on some new clothes before accepting the hang over potion from her mum and avoid being sick again when offered dry toast, which she declined. She had thought to wait an entire five minutes after taking the potion before Flooing to Grimmauld, but it wasn't enough. Her belly had calmed down enough that she wasn't going to be sick, but her brain was still twice the size of her skull and that wasn't making her feel like the nicest person in the world.

Thus, with an arm over her eyes she lay there in wait of relief, praying that the boys were running late.

She must have fallen asleep.

The sound of footsteps nearby had her twitch awake moving her arm from over her eyes and blinking the sleep away to try and focus on the person standing over her.

Waking to her DADA Professor smirking down at her from four feet away was an interesting experience.

"Had a hard night, did you?" He asked, looking suitably rested and pulled together.

"What time is it?" She croaked and sat up before doing an inventory of her aches and pains.

"Just after ten." He responded and took up on the armchair across from the couch.

Ginny nodded. It had been maybe only ten minutes since she'd arrived, but it had made a world of difference to be able to recuperate and let the potion do its job. Her head felt normal and her belly was starting to register its emptiness. She looked down at her outfit and was pleased to notice that she had managed to pull together a decent outfit in her groggy state.

"Did your mother know you were feeling that rough?" Professor Lupin asked in hesitant concern.

She sat up and curled her feet under her leaning back against the corner of the couch. "Yeah. She's fine with Ron and I having a drink every now and then so long as it's for a reason, and we don't do it often. And this one I blame on the twins. Have you met Fred and George? I mean, besides at Christmas?"

"I have. I've been into the Zonko's in the village several times. Those two are excellent salesmen the way they go about peddling the products to the kids." He approved, probably more than a Hogwarts professor should have considering most of the products they pushed were frowned upon/banned at the school. "I believe they were even the ones responsible for getting the Owl Order business properly up and running."

"Yeah. That's them. Their boss has been quite keen on their ideas. I'm pretty sure they are working on inventing their own line of joke products too. They're pretty brilliant actually. Mum just wished they'd apply that brilliance to something less troublesome to the innocent bystanders." Ginny chuckled.

"And they are the cause of your state this morning?" He innocently nudged for further explanation.

"Yep." She did a slow stretch with her arms above her head and let out a yawn. "They were eager to try out some kind truth serum with a drinking game. I'm feeling much better now though." She looked around. The elves had cleaned up the decorations and gifts now. The sitting room was spotless. "Where are Sirius and Harry? Not still sleeping, are they?" Part of her thought she was going to want to hurt them if they were. It had not been an enjoyable wake up this morning.

"In the kitchen." He gestured with his book to the door across the hall.

"Thanks." She sighed and got up to head that way.

The smell of pancakes greeted her when she passed through the door into the kitchen and her mouth started watering.

"Ginny!" Harry greeted her excitedly. "Is it ten already?" He looked to a grandfather clock behind her head.

"Fifteen after." Sirius too was checking the clock. "And here I thought you were supposed to be keeping us on schedule." He teased.

"I've been sleeping on the couch for that long." She snorted. "And I'm starving, so any breakfast left over?" She noted their empty plates sadly.

"Dobby can make miss a plate." The elf appeared eagerly from the other side of the kitchen and pulled out a seat for her. "Would miss like some coffee?"

"Water, please." She told him in relief and took the seat, giving Harry a kiss hello. "How was your New Year's Eve?" She asked them. They appeared well rested and ready to go.

"It was nice." Harry shrugged. "The Tonks' are all easy to get on with. Dinner was good."

"We were back just before eleven, so we didn't party as hard as you did." Sirius was giving her a side smile. He knew the Weasley's too well.

"Oh. Are you feeling okay?" Harry asked suddenly concerned.

"Fine." She assured him. "My little nap on your couch helped the potion kick in. Now I'm just hungry and dehydrated."

Dobby set a plate of pancakes and a banana in front of her with a glass of water and Harry told her all about Dora Tonks, this amazing Auror he'd met and her Metamorphamagus skills. The excitement in his voice as he talked about her made her cast a side glance to Sirius. He in turn shook his head, knowing her question. According to Sirius, Harry was simply in awe, not infatuation. It was great that Sirius knew her well enough to know that's where her thought process would lead her.

Harry wrapped up talking about the potential shadow program she was going to investigate. "And I think it is something she should talk to Remus about too." Harry said turning to Sirius. "He should be able to help out with that as the Defense professor. He'd know who was interested or capable of joining up."

"Oh." Sirius looked intrigued. "Can I be there when you ask him about teaming up with her for that?"

"Why?" Ginny asked. He seemed a little too eager to see the reaction from their professor.

"Dora was coming off a little keen on him last night." Harry snickered. "And I don't know if he just doesn't get hit on a lot or what, but I don't think I've seen him blush before."

"He's one for propriety for sure, but she did make a few comments that were rather thinly veiled innuendo." Sirius agreed. "He probably thinks she's too young for him." He rolled his eyes.

"How old is she?" Ginny asked. Professor Lupin could only be in his mid-thirties. It would be understandable if she was young enough for him to have taught her when he'd first started at Hogwarts. That would be uncomfortable, but if not, then it wasn't that uncommon for men to be older than the women they dated, even if it was by more than ten years.

"She'd be, what? Twenty-four or something?" Harry asked Sirius.

"Yeah, round there." He concurred.

"Alright." Ginny finished up her plate and drank down her glass of water. "You two ready to go?" She asked.

Sirius put down his paper and finished up his cup of coffee before standing. "Ready."

"Yeah. Good." Harry stood too.

()()

Sirius gave a great wistful sigh as Potter Manor appeared before the three of them.

It was not at all what Harry was expecting. There hadn't been any photo's in the file containing the paperwork for the property, but he heard the word 'Manor' and assumed it would be more of a grand estate looking place.

Not that he didn't like the look of it. In fact, he found it entirely lovely.

It was a stone house, well, not a house, it was larger than simply a house. It was two levels, a large garage attached at one side that surprised him. They must have built that on or converted a stable or something and extended the house over top of it. Given the age of the building, not to mention the magical owners, it could only have been something built on in and around 30 or so years ago.

There was a long wrap around porch that went in front of the main entrance and around the side of the house that he couldn't yet see.

Raised gardens were evenly spaced in rows in front of where the drive ended. Oddly they didn't look to have been overrun with weeds before the snow covered them up, nor did the expanse of yard before the forest appear to have run wild in the absence of a Potter having last lived at the property.

There were two shack-like out buildings on the other side of the raised gardens from the house that he wasn't sure what their purpose would be. Perhaps his grandfather had a shed full of Muggle things like Ginny's had.

"Oh, it looks like a Christmas picture." Ginny exclaimed softly.

"It does." Sirius agreed. "Come on. I want to show you the inside!" He let go of the two of them and headed up the drive to the porch.

Ginny moved closer to Harry and took his hand. "Ready?" She asked brightly.

Harry steeled himself and nodded dumbly, letting her guide him to the front door.

Sirius stood on the porch in front of the door waiting for them.

"Do I have to do something to get the door to open?" Harry asked.

Before Sirius could answer the door opened and a little blur ran straight for Sirius and attached itself to his leg. "Mister Sirius!" It squeaked. "Yous come back! I misses you SO much!"

It was a House Elf. A crying House Elf.

Sirius stared down at it in shock. "Mira?" He whispered. "You. You've been here all this time? By yourself?" He asked sounding pained.

"I keeps the house for my Masters return. I feels him." She let go and took a step back, turning her attention to Harry and bouncing up and down slightly. "Yous is." She cut off with a big gulp and more enormous tears. "Yous looks just like your daddy."

Harry was frozen to his spot with his mouth open and wide eyes taking in his family House Elf. She was dressed smartly and comfortably. Easily the best-looking House Elf he'd ever seen, hopefully that meant she'd been comfortable all these years staying here by herself, because it looked like everyone, even Sirius, had completely forgotten about her.

"Have you been here by yourself this whole time?" Ginny asked for him.

"Oh yes." She nodded enthusiastically. "I keeps the property for my masters return!" She rocked back and forth on her shoes, then launched herself at Harry's legs to wrap them in a big hug.

Instinctively he reached down to place both his hands on her back to return the embrace in the only manner he could manage with their height difference.

"Mira. I am so sorry." Sirius said in disbelief. "I should have come to check on you."

"Oh, Mister Sirius." She pulled back to look at him. "Yous were in hiding. Mira wanted to come and rescue YOU, but I can't feel your magic. I couldn't find you. I couldn't FEEL you."

"But you can feel Harry?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Yes! And now he's here!" She jumped up and down a bit. "And he brings his mate! Oh! Mira is so happy!" She stepped back. "Come. Come and see. I keeps the house so nice for you." She turned and hurried into the house.

Harry was still staring at her in shock, but saw Ginny look over at Sirius and jut her chin out for him to go in first. He did and Ginny put her hand on Harry's lower back to urge him forward.

The house was nice and warm. It had a 'Cabin in the Woods' feel, but it was polished and comfortable. The entrance was open with a loft area leading to the upstairs area. Immediately to his left was a cozy sitting area with a big fireplace that Mira ignited upon their entrance. The stairs up to the second level were blocking his view of the rest of the main floor.

They kicked off their footwear and he wandered around the stairway. Mira was talking away, but he couldn't pick up on what she was saying, he was too busy taking in the home. The kitchen, dining area and living room were all a big open space that looked into each other. There were so many windows looking out into the forest that surrounded them. He wandered slowly through the kitchen area and found a bedroom to his right past where the stairs had been. It was probably the master bedroom given the size of it. It looked out over the porch to where the drive and raised gardens were. The king-sized bed was nicely made.

Harry couldn't bring himself to step into the room. He just observed it from the doorway, then turned to walk down the short corridor and found the main bathroom then continued to the laundry area past that and opened the door at the end. It led to the garage/workshop. There was a car in there under a cover and several Muggle tools.

He stepped back from it and closed the door. Turning around to head back towards the kitchen he saw Ginny staring at the wine rack. He came to stand beside her to see what she found so interesting and lost the ability to breath for a moment.

It was his mum, dad, Sirius and Remus with him as a baby. His first Christmas.

And they were there. In the house he was currently standing in, with tacky Christmas crowns on their heads smiling at the camera. Mira ran into the picture and his Dad grabbed her and held her like she was a child, then the frame reset with just the humans again. His mum had him in her arms, he was such a roly-poly baby.

Ginny put a comforting hand between his shoulder blades while he watched the photo go through its sequence again before he could pull his eyes away to look at her. She didn't say anything, just gave him a sweet kiss and gently urged him to continue his discovery of the house.

Mira was still talking away behind them and moving around the kitchen. Now he could comprehend enough to realize she was listing off potential lunch combinations for the three humans.

Harry went back towards the living room area where the stairs were and made his way up them. There weren't any family portraits donning the walls here like there were at Grimmauld Place, but he wished that there were. Instead there was simply a landscape piece of art that showed a peaceful lake scene at dawn or dusk. He made his way to the landing of the second floor and looked back down at the living room and dining room a moment.

The landing had a simple open area with a pool table and a wet bar. He couldn't help the smile that came to his face upon seeing it and letting out a little chuckle at how different this house and Grimmauld Place were. Everything felt so relaxed here in comparison.

The door to the left of the pool table was open and he saw the silhouette of Sirius standing in it. Harry came to stand in the doorway and had a look around. There were a few posters of Quidditch teams, a Queen-sized bed against the main wall, and on the wall furthest from the window were bunk beds built into the wall.

"Why the bunk beds?" Harry couldn't help himself asking.

Sirius jumped slightly not having heard him come in and turned around to face him. His face set into a sad expression. "They were mostly for Remus and me. The Potters build them after James started school for us to stay in when we visited."

There was only a desk and dresser for furniture. It looked like when James Potter moved out of this room it turned into more of a guest room, save for the posters. "Permanent sticking charm?" He asked Sirius humorously.

"Yeah." He sighed.

As hard as this was for Harry, Sirius seemed to be taking it pretty hard too. It made sense considering he was the one with memories of each and every room.

"Come on." Sirius turned away from the room. "Let's show you the rest of the house." He ushered him back out into the bar area and went for the half door around the banister that squared off the stairs. There were two other full doors to choose from on that wall, but Sirius reached for the little door first. "This is where Mira sleeps, and it is storage as well."

There was a cute little mini room set up with an Elf sized bed and vanity along with a closet full of outfits for her. There was a child sized arm chair and mini bookshelf as well.

"I thought giving an elf clothes meant that they were freed?" Harry asked Sirius, pointing at the closet.

"Clothes yes, fabrics so the elf could make their own clothes, no." Sirius explained. "Mira was part of the family to the Potter's, they wanted her to be as comfortable as possible."

Harry nodded thinking that Sirius should probably give Dobby and Kreacher some fabric then, because their little sacks were ridiculous.

Mira's room ran along the length of the upstairs, save for the Living Room area. Easily twenty feet of a four-foot-high by four feet wide portion of windowless, otherwise storage, space. While Harry didn't know too much about Elf culture, he did remember the bit about clothes and that they slept in enclosed spaces.

Sirius pulled back and shut the door and opened the next door which was a full bathroom.

The door closest to the wet bar was another bedroom with a door on the opposite wall. Sirius didn't pay attention to the room, he went in and walked through to the other door. Granted the room simply held a bed and a closet, but Harry thought it was interesting how Sirius made a bee-line for the other door so he followed in behind him. Given the size of the house from the outside and the size of this room there should be more rooms that ran the length of the garage past this room.

Sirius opened the door and took in a deep breath as he stepped into a small kitchen.

Harry's jaw dropped at the sight of it and his mouth stayed open as he took in the rest of the space.

It was a bachelor pad. Or a mother-in-law suite.

There was a tiny sitting room that had a half wall portioning off the bedroom, and a full bathroom sharing a wall with the kitchen. There was even a door leading to a second story balcony area. On the far wall there were stairs leading down to another exit.

"Did. Is this where you lived when you moved in?" Harry asked.

"Yeah." Sirius leaned on the counter area that separated the small kitchen from the sitting room. "It did house your great-grandmother after your great-grandfather passed. But that was about ten years before I moved in." He sighed and gave a look around. "It was great living here while I got things figured out."

Ginny stepped into the space behind Sirius, her eyes going wide at her discovery of the small flat. "This is awesome." She studied the cabinets. "Uh. Mira has made some lunch for us."

"Bit early for that." Sirius commented.

"Well I certainly wasn't going to stop her from making food for the first people she's seen in fifteen years." Ginny told him as she opened one of the cupboard doors. "But by all means, go tell her it isn't necessary."

Harry took a good look out the window. He couldn't see the neighbor's house from here and doubted that you could see any of the neighbors from any spot on the manicured part of the property. The house sat on five acres of land and there had to be some wards protecting the privacy of its occupants.

Poor Mira had been here all alone for far too long.

It was a lovely home though, and no doubt it required a good amount of upkeep, but to be the only one doing it. She must be a little stir crazy.

"Think she'd get along with Dobby and Kreacher?" Harry asked Sirius.

He shrugged. "Probably. We can invite her over to Grimmauld and let her know she can go back and forth between the two so she can socialize."

They headed back downstairs to sit at the bar stools in the kitchen. Mira hopped up on a stool as well and stared at them eagerly while they slowly ate their mini sandwiches. She then started telling stories of young Sirius and her master running through the woods and trying to be Animagi, then of the Christmas when Harry was only a few months old and how he was 'such a messy pooper'. Ginny got a good laugh out of all of it, but Harry was embarrassed.

Despite the embarrassment, it was nice having someone else around to tell him stories of his parents and grandparents.


	17. Branches

**And now, let's look in on the Dursley's;**

**()**

Vernon was reviewing the stock market report of his paper, shaking his head at how much the value of some of these companies had dropped. Personally, he felt that the sort of people who were stupid enough to invest in those companies deserved what they got. The smart people, like himself, would invest in mutual funds, it was a guaranteed pay out down the road.

This was the sort of knowledge he needed to pass down to his son. Dudley would be set up with a bright future. Vernon could envision Dudley with exactly the sort of life he had with his wife. A perfect home, with a perfect wife and child. He would go off to college in a year and a half and get a business degree and become someone.

It was all planned out. And just a little longer and the money to send Dudley off to school would be in an account for him.

Vernon had been very wise about his money. He'd kept a strict record of what had been spent over the years. He'd set aside 10% of each of his paychecks for years for savings. Up until around three years ago anyway. Over these last three years those savings had been getting depleted.

Were depleted.

See, the carpets had looked like they could have used replacing, so that had needed to get done. The shingles on the roof, appliances, lawn care all needed to be looked at and taken care of by professionals. Dudley's room had also needed a carpenter in a few times to fix up the drywall, the boy was a spirited individual.

All of this had added up and Vernon had been paying everything out of his own pocket. Once his pockets were empty... he'd used other means.

It wasn't the first time this had happened, living slightly beyond their means. And he'd learned from his mistake, he swore he had. Having to turn to his brother in-law to help them out of that first pickle had been terribly embarrassing. He hadn't known about 'them' at the time, what they were. But it was only supposed to be a small loan, to be paid back.

Instead... well, that happened.

And now, in this current situation, it was all under control. He'd gotten credit. He'd worked out the interest owed and was keeping the creditors happy.

Things had just sort of steam rolled.

When his vehicle had started getting a little wonky the mechanic said it needed a new control arm, but that sounded like it would lead to more problems after its replacement. First it was a control arm, then a strut, suddenly you're in for a new repair every month. No. Better off getting a new vehicle. In the long run he would be saving money that way. Plus, mechanics need to get paid all at once. A new vehicle can be paid for in installments, and with a credit card.

The yearly family trip to Majorca with his sister, that could be thrown on the credit card as well. And that credit card could be paid off with the money from the lenders. They have a much more reasonable interest rate after all. And he was keeping the lenders happy.

Yes, over the last few years he had not been so frugal, but why should he?

He'd learned that the money they were expecting for tolerating Petunia's sister's boy would be coming in when he was seventeen, not eighteen.

For some reason their society deemed their young hooligans of age a full year before proper civilized society. Ludicrous. But if their cockamamie ideals allowed him his pay day a full year early, then so be it.

Only seven months and 29 days and they would be out of their debt and have plenty tucked away for Dudley's further education after Smelting's.

He smiled and nodded gratefully as his beautiful wife set down his breakfast of three eggs, bacon, and buttered toast and refilled his coffee.

His life was just perfect.

A knock at the door called Petunia away from her task of tidying up the kitchen with a flutter of excitement. She was always enjoying showing off her housekeeping skills to the neighborhood. It made her happy. Whether it was someone from down the street, or solicitors for a charity. Any opportunity for someone to notice how in her house you would not to find a speck of dust.

"Good morning and a Happy New Year to you." Came the distant sound of a female voice. "Would you happen to be Petunia Dursley?"

Vernon listened from his chair. It was uncommon for someone to come calling at this early hour. It was still before eight in the morning, and the day after New Year. It couldn't possibly someone in an official capacity, and the charities wouldn't be knocking on doors this early, nor this soon after Christmas.

"My name is Harley Gordon, and this is Dora Tonks. We have some business to speak to you about. Would you mind?" This Harley woman asked.

'Odd'. Vernon thought grumbling at how his breakfast was going to be left to go cold. You couldn't re-heat eggs and have them taste at all the same. He stood up and made his way into the sitting area as Petunia was showing the ladies into the room with a hostess smile about her face.

Vernon assessed the two women. The one of them was dressed smartly, she was short with cropped blonde hair and tasteful make-up. She gave him a polite smile. The other had black hair with one stripe of purple in her fringe, a black open trench coat and what looked like a man's dress shirt tucked into her dark jeans. She was simply looking around the room, as though searching for something.

He crinkled his nose at the sight of this second woman.

"You must be Vernon Dursley." The first woman extended her hand to him. "Harley."

He shook it and gestured for the two of them to occupy the couch. "I am, what can we do for you?"

Harley took the lead. The other girl must have been a trainee that didn't understand appropriate business attire. "You have made a lovely home here." She started.

Petunia fluttered her eyelashes at the compliment. "Why thank you. One does what they can with the space, but really, it is a lovely home. The whole neighborhood really. Though, Janice Deakens two houses down has the most awful carpeting in her home. Don't tell her I said anything." She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows conspiratorially.

"I won't." Harley promised. "Now, sorry to call on you so early, but I was hoping to catch the two of you. Mr. Dursley, I imagine you were heading off to work soon, so we won't take up much of your time."

"Ah, yes." Vernon didn't mind Harley but was rather wanting this Dora to get out of his house before one of the neighbors saw. "I have about ten minutes before I have to be on the road." Really it was about a half hour.

"Well, we have good news for you." She pulled out a file from her purse. Oddly the file looked about twice the size of the purse, but it was in mint condition, no creases. "For you." She passed it to Vernon.

He opened it and read quickly through the title of the document on top, then skimmed the rest of it. "The. The Deed?" He didn't understand. He looked back up at Harley now, then back down at the document and licked his lips. "Why. Are you from the bank?"

The goth girl snorted. "No. We're from the Ministry of Magic."

Both the Dursley's sucked in a breath and pursed their lips. Petunia quickly came to stand beside her husband and looked down at the document. "And you are here to simply give us the deed to the house?" she asked tersely.

"That's right." Dora said. "You are no longer obligated to 'raise' Harry Potter. He has a new guardian now. You may very well never see him again."

Vernon was delighted to hear that. "Wonderful. Do I have to sign something to make it an official transfer?"

He felt his wife's hand clench at his shoulder, and he looked up at her. She had a concerned look in her eyes. He didn't know what her problem was, she didn't want the boy here anymore than he did. Surely, she hadn't been lying to him about that all these years. She'd coddled the boy a bit much when he was a baby, but once he was old enough it was 'out of sight, out of mind'.

"No. Nothing to sign. You'll see that this has already been signed over by Harry and co-signed by his Godfather who is now his legal guardian."

"Godfather?!" The Dursley's repeated in shock.

"If he has a Godfather about, then why was he left here?" Vernon thundered.

"His Godfather was incarcerated until a few years ago." Dora told them chipperly. "Broke out of prison and then we recently found out he shouldn't have been there in the first place." She shrugged. "Anyhow. He's back now, Sirius Black, and he's adopted Harry."

"Sirius Black?" Petunia asked quietly. "Wasn't he? He was in our news. The real news."

"Yes, well." Harley took the reins. "Now that Harry has a home he no longer needs to come back here. But he still wished to grant you the deed to the house, regardless of how your obligation was not fulfilled. So." She shut the clasp on her purse loudly. "That was our only reason to intrude on your morning."

"Wait just a moment." Vernon thought. Something about how the 'obligation not fulfilled' comment stuck with him. "There was a certain amount of monies owed us once he was of age." He asked pointedly.

Dora and Harley exchanged a look. It seemed that Dora was the bad cop, or whatever their equivalent of that was, and Harley was the good.

"You didn't have him until he was of age, nor did you 'upkeep his health and welfare', did you?" There was something predatory about the way Dora asked that.

"We. We gave him a home. We kept him clothed and fed." Petunia stuttered nervously.

Harley pursed her lips and clicked open her purse again, pulling from it yet another pristine file folder and set it down on the coffee table. "Let's just look over some of his health and welfare reports from before Hogwarts, shall we?" She asked nicely. "Maybe you can clarify where we went wrong in our assessment."

Vernon and Petunia exchanged a look, thinking back over what they might have done, or not done during Harry's elementary years.

"I have here his immunization record from Fairlop Elementary. Shows that he is completely up to date." She read off nicely.

"And yet when we checked the record of the doctor's office he had supposedly been inoculated at, there was nothing under Potter. Your son however, his records were completely up to date with dates that match Harry's school ones identically." Dora told them. "Which is odd, considering Harry would have been too young to have received some of them at the time."

"And then there is this." Harley pulled out a stack of slips. "They kept record of the number of notices sent home with him about the state of his clothes, the malnourished physical appearance and the attitude displayed towards him from his own cousin, your son."

"Then there is this last little bit right here." Dora picked up an empty envelope at the bottom of the pile with a crest on the unsealed back. "Addressed to a Mister Harry Potter, Cupboard Under the Stairs." Her eye's narrowed at them. "Would that be those stairs in the hallway with the lock on the outside?" She asked maliciously.

"We. We." Vernon was at a loss for words. They'd clothed him. They'd fed him, at least once a day anyhow. And those slips from the school. They were all lies. But could he argue that? These women were magic, he couldn't just go out and get a barrister to contest these points. Who would he go up against? Their Ministry?

"And so, like we said." Harley put on a pleasant face again. "We came to delivery you the deed to the house, and now we will be on our way. You may never come across another of our kind again."

"That you know of." Dora added and stood, withdrawing her wand.

Vernon and Petunia recoiled at the sight of it. With one more smile Harley popped out of existence. There was one more glare from Dora before she too disappeared.

"Vernon?" Petunia asked.

He couldn't respond to her. Their nest egg was no more. They had the house, but their nest egg. The expected wind fall. The influx. That boy had been their goose with the golden egg. Seven more bloody months and some Godfather comes out of nowhere and now. Now!

"I'll have to call into the office." He told her. "I'll have to..." He had to look through all his statements. He, they, had the house. But they were supposed to get the money. He needed that to get out of the red. He didn't make enough.

Two hours later Vernon was still making his calculations at their table in the kitchen. It wasn't going to add up. It would take forever to get themselves out of this mess with his income.

Petunia came and refilled his coffee again.

"Here." He pushed the newspaper towards her.

"All done with that?" She asked, picking it up to place it in the bin.

"No. I need you to go through the classifieds. You'll need to get a job."

"A. A." Her jaw dropped. "A job?"

()()()()

It didn't look much different from the memory they'd seen of it. The tree's surrounding the shack were growing so close to the home, and spaced so close together than the sunshine was not allowed in, even in the dead of winter with no leaves on the branches. The narrow dirt path had overgrown, and the branches were now pushing against the sides of the building, but that was not the only difference. It was still a dark and depressing place. Now it had that extra touch required of an abandoned shack in the woods that it was missing in the memory; structural damage.

The window panes had been pushed into the shack, but not from children in the nearby village throwing rocks as children were known to do in their adolescent search for fun and mischief. The tree branches had pushed through the windows and into the building. If the nearby children knew of the shack, then there would have been more demolition apparent to its structure than the broken windows, sagging roof and warped exterior panels. There would have been graffiti, or the door would have been knocked off its hinges. Something would have shown that there had been teenagers using the shack as a hide out. Garbage and cigarette buts at least.

There were no signs that anyone had been to the building in decades.

Albus, Remus and Sirius stood at a distance from the building in observance. If there was another Horcrux in there, then there would have been repellent charms and wards placed around it. Albus began casting detection spells to find out which ones they would have to bring down.

Sirius looked back through the forest from where they stood and down the valley into the village of Little Hangleton. It was a nice quiet village. There couldn't be more than two to three hundred permanent residents, all living in centuries old homes. It was light and quaint. This shack was an eye sore in comparison, and the family that had last inhabited it had gone crazy through generations on inbreeding.

That they would have chosen to live by a lovely village such as this instead of in a wizarding village, he just didn't see why.

There were a few in his own family that had issues from his family's choices of intermarrying second cousins to keep the bloodlines close. He and Regulus had been lucky not to have their genes mutated like how he'd seen Morfin and Merope. Bellatrix was the craziest of his cousins, but hers came from abuse and being power hungry.

She'd been a nice enough girl when they were growing up but having two sisters that were so much prettier than she, it made her lash out for attention. That made his uncle Cygnus take to strapping her to make her heed his lessons on decorum. She'd gone off to Hogwarts when Sirius was around four years-old, but he remembered her from her summers home. It was when he was around eight that she'd started going dark and he'd done what he could to avoid her and keep her away from Regulus as well.

She had been one of the louder inmates he had the poor fortune of overhearing during his tenure in Azkaban. She had screamed and raved every time she had the energy to, always about her beloved Lord and how he would make everyone pay for what they'd done.

Sirius had thought he would take the Dementors over her ranting and raving when she was carrying on, but then the Dementors would come along and he would have the visions of finding his best friends dead, then he would be wishing Bellatrix's lunatic rants could replace the visions.

How he'd managed to survive in that asylum, which it essentially was, for a decade and still manage to escape was a miracle.

Dumbledore getting his name cleared, having Remus back, having Harry back. He would be eternally grateful for all they'd done for him. The Weasley's in particular he would always be indebted to.

A wave of magic brushed through him like a pulse from behind as he was looking away down the valley and he turned abruptly to his companions. He had felt Albus removing an enchantment around the shack. Albus and Remus were walking slowly towards the ramshackle structure.

Sirius caught up to them and matched their stride towards the front door. All of them silent and expecting something bad to happen.

The hook that had held the body of a snake from the memory was still in place in the high center of the wood. Albus cast another detection charm on the door itself and nothing had come of it.

Remus used his wand to open the door. The wood had expanded in the frame over the years and it was wedged rather securely in place. Blasting it inside did not seem like a good idea, but through a series of weak Bludgeoning hexes the door squeaked inwards bit by bit until it swung open with a loud protest from its hinges.

The three men regarded each other to determine the order with which they would enter the shack. Remus stepped in first, followed by Albus. Sirius had expected to be met with a powerful smell of decomposition when entering the open room, but it smelled just like the forest outside. Anything that had been left to die or mold had long since become one with the dirt and stopped stinking.

He didn't know how they were supposed to have found the object they were looking for. They might have had to begin disassembling the house board by board in search of it, but Remus had a plan that even Albus looked surprised and impressed with.

A Niffler.

Remus produced one from his inside pocket and gave Sirius a proud look before releasing him on the floor in front of himself.

The Niffler sniffed the air and began scurrying around, climbing on the steel structure that had been the stove, winding around a broken table, under the wrought iron frame of a collapsed bed and then it started scratching at one of the floor boards frantically.

Albus levitated the floor board and it came up easily enough, there were no nails keeping it in place. The Niffler dove under the board as soon as there was enough space and let out a strangled squeal almost as soon as it was out of sight and didn't stop.

They rushed forward to look down into the hole to see the creature had found a golden box and was screaming in pain from touching it. The Niffler stopped screaming and at once turned over on its side dead.

"I believe we've found what we're looking for." Albus stated solemnly.

Sirius' lip curled slightly at the statement of the obvious but decided not to say anything sarcastic. He patted Remus on the back in way of apology for him losing his little creature.

"Hagrid isn't going to be happy with me." Remus frowned and stepped back as Albus levitated the box out of the hole.

"I'd rather it was the Niffler than one of us." Sirius commented and surveyed the golden box. It didn't have any markings telling him who it might have belonged to. It was a simple small golden jewelry holder that didn't appear to be important in any way, other than the fact that it was cursed and probably held the Gaunt family ring that dated back to Salazar Slytherin, which was also a Horcrux.

Remus and Sirius stepped back out of the way as Albus gently guided the levitating box over to the stove and let it settle down on the surface. The box lid came open facing away from them. Sirius grabbed a branch from the ground by his feet and nudged the box around so it would open further and show them what was inside.

Albus nodded once they all got a good view of the ring inside.

That was the one they'd been expecting to find.

"Now what?" Sirius asked Albus. He still had the locket that he hadn't destroyed, no doubt he would have wanted to find some way to transfer the Horcrux out of this as well to 'preserve the founder's history'. And they certainly weren't going to be touching it after what had happened with the Niffler.

"Let me check it." Albus stepped closer and waved his wand to cast a few more detection spells. The box gave off a glow, but the ring did not. "It appears nothing was done to the-"

He stopped talking and stepped closer to the stove. He illuminated the tip of his wand and lowered his head to be closer to both the objects than neither Remus or Sirius were comfortable with. At the same time, they came forward and each took one of Albus' shoulders to pull him back.

"It's. When I saw the memories." Albus started while staring at the ring in awe. "I didn't see the symbol. On. On the stone." He whispered.

It still appeared that he was keen on getting a closer look at the stone disregarding the security precautions that should be taken. They moved him back to the other side of the room so if he had the impulse to grab for it take over him, they would have time to react before he touched either items.

"What is it?" Remus asked, coming to stand in front of him.

"It's the stone." Albus was staring through Remus to where the ring was. "The Stone." He said importantly.

"Right. The stone." Sirius repeated. "And do you have any impulse to touch the stone?" He asked.

"I've searched for it. Arianna." He said more to himself. "She. I could see her. The stone." He shook his head. "He must not have known. He didn't realize what he'd used. He must have just thought it was a relic. Not the stone."

Remus and Sirius exchanged concerned looks. There had to have been some Confundus type charm over the box or ring to make him rant like this.

"We're going to wrap up the box and the ring and get them out of here." Remus told Albus and reached into his pocket pulling out a small sack handing it to Sirius. "This has an impenetrable charm on it. See if you can get it in there without touching it."

Sirius took the sack and opened it as wide as it would go, placing it on the floor in front of the stove. He couldn't help but take a look at the stone set in the ring and try to figure out what it was that had set Albus off. The stone had a symbol on it, carved into the prism side facing out. But it was just a dark stone, quality of which Sirius couldn't tell. It looked to be a basic granite stone that had been smoothed down into the shape it now held.

He stepped back and stood up levitating the box into the sack and tightening it. Cautiously he tapped the sack with his bare hand a few times before being assured that the curse the box held wouldn't affect him through the fabric or impenetrable charm.

The two marauders got Albus back to Grimmauld Place and through the Floo to Hogwarts taking him straight to see Poppy and make sure he was alright. He wasn't ranting or acting uncontrollable, he seemed simply to be in shock about the symbol he'd seen. The two of them wanted Poppy's assurance that it was just the shock.

They left him with her and went back to Remus' office to chat about what had just happened.

"Did you get a look at the symbol?" Sirius asked him once they'd closed his office door and cast a muffling charm.

Remus shook his head. "What did it look like?" He asked. "Wait." He went over to his chalk board and handed Sirius a piece of chalk. "Can you draw it from memory?" It seemed he was understandable weary about retrieving the box and ring from the sack and checking for himself.

Sirius took the chalk and drew out the Triangle he'd seen with a circle encompassing the inside and a line down the middle. He set down the chalk and took a step back to stand beside his friend and stare at it. "I don't recognize it."

"It's familiar to me, but I can't think of why, or where I've seen it before." Remus' brow furrowed.

"Well. I guess we'll have to wait for Albus to come and decide to explain himself." Sirius took up a seat.

Remus looked at the symbol a bit longer and then turned to Sirius with his mouth pursed and twisting a bit. "I wonder if." He stopped and tapped his foot a few times. "I don't know if, after his reaction, if we should leave this for him to mind." He indicated to the sack that was now on his desk. "He was just too." He let out a sigh through his nose and didn't finish his sentence.

"No. You're right." Sirius agreed. "There was obviously something about it that caused him to lose control of himself." He contemplated where they could stash it until they figured out another way to destroy it and the locket. "I could drop it off in my vault I suppose. I'm going back there tomorrow."

Remus went around and sat in his chair on the other side of the desk. "He'll assume that that is where we've taken it. But I imagine he will understand our desire to keep it away from him." He nodded. "And if you'd like, I'll come with you again tomorrow, to look for the chalice again."

Sirius gave him a grateful look. "Thank you. Harry is coming with me too, and the elves." Currently Harry was at the Burrow spending time with Ron and Ginny. Probably more with Ginny than Ron.

()()()()

"Oh fuck! Yes. Right there." Ginny's head was thrown back.

Harry tried to muffle her cries by covering her mouth with his free hand. He couldn't tell how loud they were with the blood furiously pumping through his veins and echoing in his ears. His other hand was currently buried in her slick and hot folds pumping in and out of her.

He removed his hand and pulled her lips to his. Unable to hold back any longer he moved his hand between them and popped open the button on his trousers, lowering them freeing his erection. The cool air hit his flesh and caused a slight shiver to run through him. It wasn't but a few seconds of exposure before he removed his fingers from inside her and replaced them with his full length.

She cried out in pleasure again that was muffled against his lips.

He wanted to be able to tuck his head into the crook of her neck to focus on enjoying the feel of her tight walls around him, but his little vixen was being much too loud. "Ginny." He gave a strangled whisper. "You have to be." He groaned again as the sensations from his thrusts took over his brain. "Quiet." He managed.

Her legs were hooked tightly around him and he gripped at the tree behind her in an attempt to keep them both upright while he shagged her against the trunk.

It had started out as an innocent snog after a bit of a stroll. They'd been talking about Potter Manor, then about heading back to school. Ginny had guided their stroll in this direction and he'd taken that to mean she wanted them to turn their conversation into other things. It had unfolded as they tend to do with two entirely randy teens in the short weeks after opening themselves to the possibility of having shagging as an option for their pastimes.

He'd intended to make her cum with his fingers like he had while they were at school, but she was just so tight and wet around his fingers that his dick was being much to demanding of attention. Her moans were letting the head between his legs take charge, and that head was telling him that if he had the opportunity to fuck her against a tree, then he was damn well going to fuck her against a tree.

Her arms released from around him one at a time as she looped them around the branches beside them for leverage. That little bit of added support allowed him to grip her hips and give it to her with the wild abandon that his body was craving. The slapping sound their bodies were making was like a round of encouraging applause to his ears.

As his lower abdomen was telling him it was nearly over, he started grinding into her the way he'd come to understand she liked. He was desperate for her to cum first, and soon. He'd been halfway gone just using his fingers on her and had hoped she'd been half way there herself.

The change of tactic was supposed to have gotten her closer and pushed his finish further away, but it just felt so good to be inside her that his build up was still stacking higher. "Ginny. I need you to cum." He growled.

"Touch me." She moaned.

That request didn't help, it sounded so sexy that his eyes rolled back a moment in his head when the sweet sound of her request reached his ears. He managed to stop a whimper from leaving his mouth from the amount of effort it was taking to gain control of himself.

Pulling his head up to look at her, her eyes were still closed, and she was biting her lip to try and keep quiet. She had that sexy flush come over her that she gets when she's worked up. He gripped her under her bum with one hand and pressed his thumb over her exposed clit rubbing it in circles to match the movement of his grinding.

He watched with darkening eyes as her chest heaved sporadically while she rocked against him. Her mouth opened in the perfect 'o' shape and he couldn't help thrusting into her again as he looked at that mouth, his head filling with several images of her taking him in that perfect mouth.

Her brow furrowed and she let out a whimper from his change of pace.

The growl that emanated from his mouth when he reluctantly switched back to grinding into her again surprised him. Her mouth falling open again at the movement she wanted was reward enough for having to keep up this pace.

He looked down hoping to see where their bodies were joined, but her skirt was pushed up and blocking his view. He closed his eyes and pulled up the image of what it would look like. And what it would look like if he had her bent over so he could see her bum while he thrust into her. And what it would look like if she was riding him in his dorm bed.

His thumb was still rubbing around her clit and finally he felt her squeezing his dick, gripping him harder with her walls again and again. He opened his eyes to see her flush spread out the entire way up her neck and her body seized up. It looked like she was internalizing her scream of release. She was insanely tight around him now and he gripped her hips again and resumed fucking into her like he owned her body.

She was so much more tight and wet like this, it was made even hotter by how she was elevated using her own strength. He jabbed into her in quick repetitive movements, feeling the pressure build up in his belly and his balls tightening. He pulled her mouth forcefully to his right before he gave his last determined thrust as fully inside her as he could possibly go and spilled his seed deep into her belly moaning against her mouth.

His movements slowed as he milked the rest of his orgasm lazily out of him. With a sigh he relaxed against her. "Fuck." Was all he could manage with his lips against her neck.

"Harry." She gave a pained whisper. "I can't." He felt her shoulders moving.

It took great strength to try and stand up properly again from his slouched position. It was her arms around the branches that was the problem. She looked like she couldn't manage to detangle them without some leverage from his end.

Problem was that his own arms were losing the ability to hold at her hips, let alone boost her up. So, he did the only thing he could think of to help and used his pelvis to boost her up.

Ginny's eyes went wide as he rocked inside her fully again but clenched her thighs tighter around him and managed to get her arms over the branches and down over his shoulders with a satisfied groan. She slid down his body, lowering her legs and he slid out of her.

Her skirt fell back down to her knees as her legs came together and he managed to pull up his pants and trousers again and hugged her to him without doing up the button. That had been entirely exhausting, and he hadn't realized exactly how much of his energy he'd been using up to reach his climax. She was curving her body against his as though she'd been likewise affected.

It was a relief to feel considering just how rough he'd been with her.

"Are you. I didn't mean to-" He started weakly.

"Shh." She nuzzled into his chest. "I liked it."

He nodded and pulled her down to lay down with him on the ground. Standing was too much work. It was time for a nap.

()()()

Ron shook his head in disgust.

Did they not think he could see the orchard from his room?

It wasn't like he could see down below the branches, but the amount of quivering and shaking the tree was doing because of them left little to the imagination of what it was they were getting up to.

He might have had a more innocent explanation come to mind if he hadn't had the misfortune of hearing just how far Ginny had gone with her boyfriend the other night. He was damning Fred and George right alongside her over that one. They didn't have to share a dorm room with the bloke she was shagging.

And even though Harry had flat out told him that he thought Ginny was it for him. Still. Yuck.

He turned away from the window and looked back to his desk and the pro/con list he'd done up last week. It was still sitting there untouched since just after Christmas.

Hermione wanted to be friends. Just friends.

It was depressing, but he felt like they were already broken up. And it had felt that way since she'd talked to him if he was honest with himself. But the problem was that it wasn't official yet, and he wanted it to be before they went back to school.

So, he had written her a letter.

Harry had mentioned to him earlier, before he took Ginny out to shag her in the orchard, that he'd run into Hermione at the Ministry on Monday and she'd been busily researching You-Know-Who's background.

She wasn't lying about in her room just hoping for some romantic gesture from him to restore her faith in their relationship.

No, it was time. He'd done a rough draft and thought it read nice enough. He wasn't the most eloquent of blokes, but he'd just put down what he thought would express his feelings about it all decently enough for her.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I can't say I wasn't blindsided when you told me you thought we were just too different. But I've had time now to think over it, and I really shouldn't have been so oblivious. I mean, we don't talk all that much about anything but school work and your research, and I know that is because that's all you're really interested in._  
_Sorry if that sounds harsh, but it is true. And I'm sure you think that all I'm interested in is Quidditch and food._  
_Maybe if we'd been friends before we became a couple then there would be more foundation there, but I thought you were so pretty the first time I saw you, and really, you were the first girl I'd ever been interested in._  
_I still really like you, but you are right. There should be more there by this point._  
_Three months we were together and I don't regret any of it._  
_Can't say I don't wish I'd gotten you alone in a broom closet a few more times, but what can I say, I already told you I think you're pretty, and I am a red blooded bloke after all._  
_I do still want to be your friend. I can't not be around you as I care about you so much and truly do like you._  
_I know it'll be hard and uncomfortable for a while, particularly when the time comes that you start dating someone else. But this whole holiday has been pretty hard, and I think I've managed to mourn the end of our relationship properly._  
_Ron_

_P.S- Please don't push me away if I try to hug you when I see you. I'll attempt to make it as platonic as possible._

That was as good as it was going to get.

He folded up the letter and attached it to Pigwidgeon's leg. As he watched the owl fly off a blanket of gloom settled over him again. That letter was the nail in the coffin of their relationship.

Ron threw himself on his bed face down, wishing he'd at least gotten the opportunity to explore certain aspects of their physical relationship. He'd been so respectful of her boundaries since day one. He'd been ignoring the little devil on his shoulder telling him to try this and that with her, he'd save those for the little fantasy scenarios he called to mind when he was alone in his dorm room.

Forcing his thoughts to turn to the sea of opportunities that was now open to him he wondered how long he should wait to try and find someone else for a little broom closet time.

Not all girls were as cross legged as Hermione was, and Merlin, was he eager to go about discovering the joys of being with a girl.

Daphne Greengrass might be the ideal, but he had noticed the lovely chest on Lavender as well. And, not to be that guy, but she looked... easy.

**AN- Had to throw the Hinny scene in there. They didn't get any unsupervised time this week except for that trip to the orchard.**


	18. Rules

**AN- Stephanie O, this one is for you. Thanks for all of your reviews, glad you are enjoying my fanfic's.**

Nothing got done in Muggle administrative offices at this time of year. It was all full of Monday to Friday mothers and fathers that took off during the holidays because their children were out of school, so there was no way that any request she made for information was going to be addressed during her time off.

But this was important information she needed and searching for it herself wasn't hurting anyone. It was a government facility, but she wouldn't be taking anything just getting information. And she was of age, so the magic that she'd used to get into the building was allowed. It wasn't being lawfully used, but it wasn't going to result in an Owl from the Ministry.

And besides, it was only a disillusionment spell and a few Alohamora's. An Alohomora was a first-year spell, that probably didn't even register.

Rationalizing her break and enter was only kind of working.

There wasn't any way that she was going to be able to just sit home today and go over everything she knew already. She'd been over her entire wall of evidence and facts and theories for days now and after Ron's Owl yesterday she couldn't just sit at home. She was single again and in need of something.

It was madness.

It was crazy, impulsive and criminal.

She was being crazy, impulsive and criminal.

But.

It was here. Should a few locked doors and holiday closures really be what stands in front of her and her search for the truth of Tom Riddles upbringing? No!

If she lived in London, went to school somewhere that was accessible by phone or facsimile, well then, she might have been able to find something else to do today.

If her parents weren't back in the office performing root canals, then she would have someone to spend her day with.

All these things were legitimate reasons to explain why she was standing in a dark administration office for the London Council looking for the whereabouts of a demolished orphanage's records from fifty years ago. The orphanage itself was only demolished two years ago, so they wouldn't have destroyed them.

They are probably being stored in a warehouse or something. But this office building, well they would have the information on where.

She'd checked all around the building and there weren't any CCTV camera's yet installed here. It wasn't like they kept any money or valuables locked up here, just information. Lovely, beautiful multi-colored manila folders with labels perfectly placed on every tab. Meticulously maintained filing cabinets with alphabetical and chronological organization that made research so easy.

These were her people.

Every document that entered the building would be reviewed, possibly copied, signed off on and then placed in the exact right folder for future reference.

She walked down the corridor that led to the expansive open cubby area with desks and drawers dedicated to each employee's specialty. Name plates were proudly displayed at the entrance to each perfectly squared off work station with name and title.

These stations didn't move around like the one at the Ministry. Like most things in the secret world she was being educated in, magic was relied on heavily. Stacks of papers and folders had been piled high in the administrative offices at the Ministry of Magic. She'd nearly had a heart attack observing the chaotic towers of documents behind the doors blocked by the desks on the Level One Administrative Offices.

Simple summoning charms meant that they didn't have to be delicate with these important pieces of paper. It was lazy and sloppy. She would not be able to find anything there.

Here however.

She came to a stop in front of Gertrude Smith's name plate. Assistant Operations Director. Miss Smith would be the second in charge to the Operations Director who would dictate how best to distribute tasks amongst the lower administration clerks. Meaning she would have the list of clerks and facilities available at her desk.

Hermione pulled out the wheelie office chair and checked the papers pinned to the cubby wall on either side of the computer. There was a list of names and phone numbers along with post-it's reminding her of dates and tasks, but nothing indicating who the records clerk would be. There were basic stationary supplies and granola bars in the top desk drawer, the middle drawer had a laminated piece of paper with exactly what she was looking for though.

Adam Steinbeck was listed as the buildings Records Clerk.

There was no layout attached for exactly where Adam's desk would be though. Disappointed, she put the employee list back in the drawer. Putting the chair back exactly as she had found it, she wove her way down the aisle between cubbies checking every one of the name plates.

Now, there was that expression that things are always in the last place you look. And it was a ridiculous expression, of course they were in the last place you look. If you find your tie clip under a couch cushion you wouldn't continue to look for it when it is in your hand. However, here was the name plate for Adam Steinbeck in the absolute last possible cubby she could have checked. On this floor anyhow.

His desk was unfortunately stacked with papers, as was the top of his filing cabinet.

The man had the benefit of a great view from his corner desk by the window and yet he had the most cluttered desk of all the one's she had seen so far.

With a sag of her shoulders she reached into her bag and pulled out a half sandwich and a bottle of water. This was going to take a while.

Paperwork and research were things that Hermione got a thrill out of. It was hard to explain to others why she liked it. Why seeing all these stacks of loose unrelated papers could both be seen as tedious and a thrilling challenge to her studious brain.

It was a Friday at ten in the morning. There wouldn't be anyone in here until Monday, and no one expecting her at home until 5pm. She picked up the closest stack of papers that she could easily hold in between her two hands and tap down on the desk so they were aligned, she did a quick flip through them to see if they were all the same type of document then went through one by one by way of a quick flip down on one corner to check the titles and addresses showing in the top left corner of each page.

Stack by stack she went through the papers. There was nothing relating to Wool's Orphanage or Guilford Street, Bloomsbury in any of the loose-leaf cluttering Steinbeck's office surfaces. With mentally crossed fingers she tugged at the bottom drawer of his filing cabinet, praying that they would hold more order than the desk had.

The drawer opened easily, and she raised her eyes to the ceiling in thanks to whatever gods convinced mister Steinbeck to have these files at least organized and properly labeled.

The tabs read out Acquisitions 1995, Merch. Inv. 1995 and the like at the front of the cabinet and the back was 1994. 1995 would have been when the orphanage was demolished and the records moved. Starting at the front she began going through all the folders and documents in the files.

Transfers 1994, third hanging folder from the back of the drawer held what she was looking for.  
70-72 Guilford St. Queen funded orphanage. Record transferred to the Family Records Centre in Islington.

Thank mercy.

Had it been in the Public Records Building on Chancery Lane then there was no way she was going to be able to find it with all the people who would be using it. It was a public building that would be full up of uni students working on a thesis or something. The Family Records Centre however, well, that would be 'closed' today.

Tucking the paper back into the folder she closed the drawer and started her way from where she was in Southwark, only three miles north to Islington. It would only be a few stops on the Northern Line and then she'd have to break in there as well.

She was quite at home by herself in the Muggle world of London. In fact, given the warmer than average temperatures it would have been a lovely walk there. But she did not have the time for that, and any time spent not doing something was time for her mind to drift back to Ron's letter.

His last line, asking her not to push him away if he tried to hug her. That had made tears roll down her cheeks. She would never push him away! He'd been so sweet with her. And patient. Victor may have been the first boy she'd ever dated, but that hadn't been a relationship. It was a few kisses and a cordial friendship more than anything.

Ron had been her first boyfriend. His attention had been so flattering, and as he was the new boy coming into a sea of estrogen that was basically his for the taking and he was focusing his attention of her! Oh, she'd felt so empowered by it.

And the kissing.

Well the kissing was lovely.

The feeling of his arms around her was perfect. And she had felt how much he enjoyed it. She wasn't an idiot in that department. She knew what that weight was pressing against her hip, and Ginny had admitted to her that she would have been shagging Harry if they had enough privacy. Girls and boys their age did that.

But she wasn't ready.

And really, she and Ron had so little in common.

Breaking up was the right choice. She wouldn't have been enough for him in the relationship department and didn't want to wait for the day when he realized just how much of a problem he had with that. If they waited any longer, she would no doubt stumble across him making up for lost time with some other girl and their friendship would be ruined too.

Enough!

She wasn't going to focus any more attention to it. It would be hard enough when she gets back to school. Now was the time to focus on breaking into the Family Records Centre.

It would require the same spells she'd used to get into London Council. These records would most likely be sorted by last name. That shouldn't take too long.

Getting off at the Euston station she weaved her way through the crowds of post-holiday bargain hunters and made her way to the rather interesting looking corner building on Myddleton Lane.

No one was paying her any mind as she glanced around once again for any signs of a surveillance camera or security system before unlocking the door and disillusioning herself.

There were only security lights on on the main floor. There were rows and rows of binders on shelves behind a reception counter. Flipping the counter door up she went to one of the workers stations to see if she could figure out how to use their tools of streamlining the process.

They didn't have any computers here. That was good news for her. Not because she didn't know how to use one, but because they took ten minutes to start up and she could only figure out how to play some of the games on them, not use the software.

A binder was much simpler a tool for her. Such as the one that was sitting at the ready behind the counter of the first wicket station.

Flipping it open there were a few tabs showing Marriage, Death and Birth. The first set of three tabs was for London. Turning to the Birth's tab she trailed her finger down the R's. R to Ri was in a few binders on shelf D-36-C.

Looking behind her, she saw the shelves all had alphanumeric assignments and she left the binder where it was and headed to the destination.

D-36-C had fifteen enormous binders on it with assignations for where in the alphabet the names inside fell. RID had one binder all to itself. And in that binder one Riddle, Tom Marvolo had his own line. Born December 31st, 1926- Wool's Orphanage. And a newly inked notation that had Hermione shaking with anticipation- see Wool's Orphanage Records- Room 136 shelf 22.

Repeating that notation to herself a few times she shut the binder and made for the closest wall on the opposite side of the reception area in search of room 136.

Well, the 1 would be an indication of the first floor, which was this one. So, it must be one of the rooms off of this main records area. At the end of aisle D was room 122. She turned right and the room numbers she passed kept going up until turning another time and finding room 136. Using her wand, she opened the door and entered a room lined with deep shelves, and only one row of double-sided shelving in the middle.

Shelf 22 was directly opposite the door.

Every single space on the shelf was occupied with bankers' boxes that read out "Wool's Orphanage" on the top line and different subject lines right underneath it.

Wool's Orphanage- Orphans- P-Z 1900-1950 was the box. For a moment all she could do was stare at it.

Pulling the box off the shelf she set it on the floor and sat cross legged in front before flipping the lid off. The files in the box were relatively new, certainly hadn't been the ones that were used while Tom Riddle lived at Wool's. And his was near the back.

Riddle, Tom M. 1926-1944.

She pulled it out delicately and flipped it open. The papers inside were not in any sort of order, and they were not well preserved either. Some of them appeared like they would crumble to dust if they were exposed to the outside air.

Taking the file completely and erasing any proof of there having been a Tom Riddle raised in a Muggle orphanage was an option here. However, if she was going to be able to credibly back up her facts then these resources would have to be available at a later date. She duplicated the file, keeping the copy for herself and casting a simple preservation charm on the newly formed papers.

Replacing the file, she put the banker's box back on the shelf and left the way she came in.

Once back out on the street with the duplicated file secured from the elements in her bag, she felt... alive.

She'd just broken into two government facilities and found the material she'd been looking for in just under four hours including travel time. And no one would be the wiser. Those were public records, anyone could have requested them. So, it wasn't really against the law what she'd done. Just the breaking and entering part.

Hermione couldn't help feeling that it had been a James Bond moment for her though.

Now she was headed straight home to read through the pages and figure out the origin story of Lord Voldemort.

()()()()

"So that's it?" Harry asked Sirius after he'd pulled a bag from his pocket and set it down in a dresser drawer otherwise full of books.

Sirius gave a sigh and a nod. "Yep. That's the one we found yesterday inside there."

Harry peered at the bag with interest. He'd only seen the diary and the locket, now they'd already destroyed Ravenclaw's diadem, and they had this ring that apparently set his Headmaster off on some kind of mad tangent. It was really intriguing. His Headmaster was supposedly the greatest wizard of their time, but something about the stone in the ring made him lose it.

Dumbledore had Floo called them last night after dinner to inquire about it after speaking to Remus. He'd been rather odd about it then too. He was being tight lipped about answering questions Sirius had in regard to his reaction earlier. Apparently, Madame Pomphrey had made him take a calming draught and kept him for observation for a bit, but that was it.

Sirius had assured him that he was going to keep it in a safe place and at a safe distance from him. That's why it was getting stashed in the Black Vault.

Hopefully this would be the last time Sirius would have to come down here and search for the chalice. Harry was hoping to be with him when he found it, and they could come back again tomorrow, but he was hoping to get all the rest of his holiday assignments done tomorrow morning and then do a whole lot of nothing with Sirius tomorrow afternoon. They had both been rather busy these past two weeks.

"Just that back corner that hasn't been searched yet." Sirius led him through the stacks. "If we don't find it there, then I'll have to pay the Goblins again to find it." He shook his head. "Can't believe how hard this blasted thing is to track down." He paused his movements and turned to Harry. "You know, if we find it and it doesn't turn out to be a Horcrux I'm going to be pissed."

Harry laughed at that. It was understandable. This was, what? The fourth day he'd been down here looking for it? He must be close to wanting to get rid of all of the possessions down here by now, save for the coin.

"Alright." Sirius brought is arms up and pointed to the wall to their right. "From about here." His other arm came up pointing to the wall in front of them and off to the left. "To about there." Then gave a sigh.  
Harry nodded and started opening cabinets and trunks in his vicinity.

The elves weren't with them today. They had invited Mara over and the three House Elves were doing a thorough clean of Grimmauld Place from top to bottom. The little girl elf had been so excited to see Harry at breakfast that morning that she gave him another hug around his knees. She was rather adorable in her elf sized courtesan dress she'd made for herself. Sirius had requested she make outfits for Kreacher and Dobby as well and she was happy to.

"So." Sirius started from the other side of the makeshift alley from Harry. "Are you happy to be going back to school?"

Harry paused and turned to him in humor. He was trying to make small talk, or trying to get to an important question? "It'll be nice to get back to playing Quidditch I suppose. But I've been having a really good holiday." He and Sirius had gotten comfortable with each other easily. Sirius was starting to feel like a proper parental type person to him, something the Dursley's never had been. Remus, er, Professor Lupin, felt like he was more of an uncle now too, a close one that Harry could come to with any personal problems.

This was the first time he wasn't eager to go back to school. "I'm going to miss sleeping in." Harry offered lamely then turned away. "And, you know, you." He felt his face heating up. He was going to miss Sirius. Their eyes met and Harry hoped he could portray that thought with a look rather than verbalization.

"Well." Sirius cleared his throat. "You know. I um. I'll be able to visit Remus a few times through the year. And we still have Easter Break before the summer. I was hoping you'd come home for that too."

He sounded so hopeful about that that it made Harry grin. "Yeah. I'd like that." They smiled at each other a moment and turned back to their task.

"I was thinking that, maybe we could go and see the Godric's Hollow property then?" He asked rather cautiously.

Harry sucked in a slow breath. He'd been avoiding that topic and didn't know whether it was because of his own feelings or Sirius'. He'd been too young to have any memories of the house he'd lived in until he was 18 months old, but Sirius had been there that night after it happened. He'd seen things in that house that he wouldn't be able to un-see and if Harry and he went.

Harry closed his eyes tight for a moment to try and push away the thoughts, but his closed eyes only had his imagination showing him what Sirius would have seen when he came into the house. Had his father been lying face down in the entryway? Was his mother just crumbled at the foot of his crib? It was just too awful to picture. With his eyes open he could look at all the priceless junk piled high in this vault. This wasn't something he could answer right then.

"Let me think about it." Harry told him quietly.

"Right. Right." Sirius let it go and turned back to his own pile. "So then, Quidditch and seeing Ginny regularly. Must be nice."

Grateful for the change of topic he latched on. "Yeah, and what's happening with the woman you're seeing? Does Remus know who she is?"

"Nope. Too soon for that." He replied nonchalantly.

"So, it's a casual thing?" Harry asked curiously. He tried to picture himself having a casual relationship and what that would be like. Just a few snogs in a broom cupboard? He couldn't pull up an image of any girl he would want to do that with. The girls at Hogwarts all seemed like they wouldn't be up for that kind of thing anyways. Though, now that he had Ginny he supposed any previous girl he might have snogged or whatever before she came along would have been classified as casual. He couldn't picture having the same feelings for another that he had for Ginny.

"Er. No?" Sirius replied.

Harry looked over at him. His brow was furrowed as he moved a few items around in a cabinet. "So, it isn't casual, it's been going on for several weeks now, but it's still too soon to let us know who she is? Is she ugly or something?" He teased.

"No!" He looked over at him incredulously. "She's gorgeous! It's just. It's." He was starting to look like a teen boy caught with his hand in a girl's knicker drawer.

"Why are you hiding it then?"

"She's just someone very important, okay?" He exasperated.

"Well if she's important to you, then-"

"Not like that." He cut him off. "She's important in the sense that she has a lot of influence and shouldn't be associated with me." He said morosely.

"Oh!" It finally clicked for Harry. This mystery girl wasn't being the one kept secret, Sirius was. Mystery girl was important and being connected in that sense to a previously escaped convict would look bad for her. "Oh." His humor dropped. Well, now he felt bad for Sirius.

Harry's brow knit together as a sudden onslaught of what his Godfather had been through over the past several years passed through his mind. "Aren't you tired of keeping so many secrets?"

"What?" Sirius stopped his search and stared at Harry.

"Well. I mean, you knew that Peter Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper and didn't tell anyone because you didn't know who you could trust with it. Then you had to hide yourself as a dog at the Burrow and couldn't tell anyone, again, because you couldn't trust anyone with it. Now you're doing this Horcrux hunt and only have a few people you can talk to about it. Aren't you tired of always having a secret?" He asked in earnest. "I mean. I didn't realize until after Ginny got me to talk about my... uh, growing up at the Dursley's, that I was keeping that a secret. So maybe you hadn't even thought about it like that. But once I told her, then you know, it felt, uh, good." He finished lamely.

Sirius stared at him for a long minute, his eyes growing slightly glassy and his complexion coloring slightly. "I." he cleared his throat. "My person. The one that I told about what my parents did to me over the years. Well. It was your dad."

Harry felt uncomfortable tingles go through his arms and up to his cheeks at that before taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out. "And now you. I mean. Remus is still your- You don't resent him or something, do you?" He tried to understand.

Sirius shook his head adamantly in a way that told Harry to completely disregard that thought. His hand was resting on the side of a cabinet, his pinky tapping nervously against the wood.

"Amelia Bones." Sirius blurted out.

Harry blinked a few times. "The. The lady from? The head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?!" He grew loud with his incredulity.

"Shh." Sirius waved his hand in a lower the volume gesture and tried to see back to the door of the vault where a Goblin was standing, but it was much too far away. "Yes. Okay. And please! Keep it to yourself."

"I. Just." He knew he must have been gaping at him like a fish. No wonder they were keeping it quiet. She was part of the Wizengamut and played a part in his pardon. "She's... attractive."

"I know." He waggled his eyebrows at him and gave a cheeky grin.

Harry let out a laugh. "Look at you just all-" He cut off when something caught his eye on a shelf about five feet behind Sirius and his eyes went wide. "Look!" He went around him to the bookcase and pushed two plates out of the way, knowing not to touch it. "Look!" He said again now it was more visible.

"You found it!" Sirius let out a whooping noise. "Okay. Stay here. I'll be right back with that sack and we'll knock it in there until we can get Remus or Albus to test it and see if it really is a Horcrux."

Harry nodded at him and turned back to the chalice to study it closely. It was completely golden and looked more like a trophy than a cup, but it was rather like a fancy wine glass with two handles on either side up the cup part. He'd been able to make out there was an animal on it from the distance. Keeping in mind how Headmaster Dumbledore had reacted he was trying not to inspect it too closely in case there was some sort of Compulsion charm on it.

"Alright." Sirius came up behind him. He opened the sack wide and set it at the base of the bookcase then grabbed an ornately handled umbrella from nearby, only to drop it when the bird engraved on the end of it tried to bite him. "Ah! Blasted Granny Melania!" He started muttering about crazy old witches while he looked for something else to use while Harry bit his lip to stop from laughing outright.

Sirius ducked around the corner out of sight and came back with a sword. "Alright." He said again and hooked the end of the sword through one of the handles on the cup and got it to come forward off the shelf and drop into the sack. It made a tinging noise when it struck the other item in there.

Sirius chucked the sword into a pile of items beside him and picked up the sack. "That concludes our hunt for today!" He beamed at him before pulling him in for a one-armed hug and ruffling his hair.

()()()()

Some had been weary of making Nymphadora Tonk an Auror. She fumbled and tripped regularly, her attitude was very laid back and she had trouble keeping a filter on that mouth of hers. But all of those off-putting qualities just made her all the more endearing. If one was to look at only what made her an amazing addition to the Aurors then she would be seen as rather the dangerous individual. Her metamorphmagus skills for one could scare off several individuals, her critical thinking and thorough investigative nature was a huge help in rallying her team to get the job done. The girl had no quit. And she was blunt. She didn't beat around the bush about anything.

So, when she all but barged into the Amelia's office and demanded that there be some sort of shadow program for potential Aurors she had the list of all the reasons why it was a great idea, and why it wasn't. Not just verbally either, she had a business proposal in her hand that was twelve feet long with statistics and budgetary costs taken directly from the Auror Program Training Facility and the Records Department at the Ministry.

She had already gone so far as to consult a few of her senior Auror's for their backing on it and had names and signatures on the last page of those willing to help institute the program.

After Tonks handed over the document and helped herself to a chair, she prattled off the summary of what was inside and how she'd already talked to a student at Hogwarts and they had been entirely eager to be a part of a program like this. She'd also mentioned that this little chat had occurred mere days ago.

Amelia sat there silently while Tonks said her bit with an amused expression. The girl was passionate and that was a wonderful thing.

"So, I really think that we should institute this program before the next years Initiate Auror program begins." Tonks finished with a determined nod of her head and a heavy breath through her nose.

"Feel better?" Amelia asked her humorously.

"Yes?" Tonks shakily answered as though she was unsure what the question was supposed to be referring to.

The two of them had a good rapport, and Tonks was one of the few people she would prefer to intrude her work day without an appointment. Generally, she would hope that she'd have two beverages for them to relax with and talk about a lot of nothing with, but a this was still a better interruption to her day than the whiny complaints that she normally gets stuck with. Most of them from the Minister via one of his assistants.

She held up the document. "I will read through this and give it careful consideration. Then if it does look like it would be a good idea and help root out some of the problems, we've been having with the short lived Auror careers we've been seeing then I will present it forward for official approval." She stated simply. "There is nothing I can do to streamline the process for this, so give me the weekend to look it over and double check your facts, then come and see me again on Monday."

"Monday?" Tonks lit up. "As in three days from now Monday?"

"Yes." Amelia nodded.

Tonks patted her hands down hard on the arms of the chair in her exuberance before standing. "Great! Thanks Ame-, er, Miss Bones." The steel toe of her boot caught on the leg of the chair and she fumbled a bit but didn't knock either it nor herself over. Giving one more wave she let herself out and closed the door behind her.

Amelia shook her head. Tonks was just so likable.

An Auror shadow program would be a good idea, and it would only be for a day during the summer. The next Auror training was already full up with a wait list that was dependent on NEWT results, but even those already signed up should have to do it to see what a day in the life of the Auror's would really be like.

Currently the Auror's would be partnered with a senior staffer after they've completed the program. The Junior Auror to Senior Auror numbers were heavily skewed, almost 3 to 1. It certainly wasn't due to any mortality reason. These kids were coming in expecting thrills and adventure at every turn and that just wasn't the way of it.

Budgetary reasons would be the best way to get Fudge to approve the program.

Amelia gave a sigh. Yet one more piece of work to bring home with her this weekend.

She put the proposal in her bag and turned back to the task she'd been occupied with before the interruption. It too was more of a side project of hers than job related. It was a copy of the Deed that Harry Potter had presented to her on Monday along with everything else that Tonks and Harley had found about his upbringing.

The phrasing of the deed looked... funny. It would have had to be put in place by a temporary guardian of Harry's that knew the house the Dursley's had been living in had belonged to the Potter's. That hadn't been Sirius, and it obviously hadn't been Harry, he was only 18 months old when he had to move in with them.

Remus Lupin couldn't have done it either. That left Dumbledore.

But why would Dumbledore make promises like that on behalf of the Potters?

Clearly the Dursley's didn't want Harry there. Did he know this and use it as incentive for them to keep the boy? And what right would Dumbledore have had to make this promise? Why did the Potters have the Deed to the home in the first place, and why did Dumbledore know about that?

Sirius hadn't said anything about it in the meeting, but he'd been letting Harry speak for himself.

She didn't want her job to interfere with their... relationship. She wasn't sure exactly what they had between them. But she liked having the answers to her questions.

Taking a piece of parchment, she wrote out a request to meet with him Sunday evening. Harry would be back at school then, as would Remus, so Grimmauld Place was a safe spot for their liaisons again.

()()()()

Coming back to school early on Sunday was a great idea, and not having to take the train was great too.

There were only a handful of kids that stayed behind at school over the holidays, so the corridors were basically a free reign for him. And he had one spot in mind that he was very eager to discover. Harry had his cloak just in case, and his father's map.

This map. It was so amazing to watch the ink spider out and see the little footprints wandering alongside the names of those in the school. And besides that, just having another piece of his dad was wonderful.

According to the map there was no one in the seventh-floor corridor that he was headed to. Sirius explained to him how to get in there. Just pace back and forth three times and think of what you want in the room. It sounded too simple. Although, the castle was a large place and odds of anyone accidentally finding this were slim. People didn't absentmindedly pace in a corridor that contained no other door.

He found the portrait of Barnebus the Barmy and looked at the wall opposite. There was nothing there to indicate it was any different a stretch of piled stone than any other. It's lack of portraits or tapestries might have been a bit of a tip off, but there were usually hidden passageways behind the tapestries, and doors behind the portraits, like with the kitchen.

If anything, having nothing on the wall where this door was supposed to appear would have hinted more towards nothing being there than something.

As a first test he paced back and forth and thought about the boy's dormitory. Three paces and then a door did appear. Harry let out an exulting 'ha' and grasped the handle to pull it open.

Magic was so amazing, he thought when he entered the room. It had five twin beds, each with a trunk at the end. It was a really detailed replica as well. There was even a sticker on one of the trunks advertising Manchester United that belonged to Dean.

He stepped out of the room and closed the door. It disappeared and turned back into the dark grey stone. Harry stepped back towards the middle of the corridor grinning broadly and thought about what he wanted the room to look like next.

It was a little embarrassing, but he'd pictured it in his mind several times now and he wanted to try it out.

Once more he paced back and forth before the door appeared again.

This time when it opened it showed him a small cluttered room with only a bed, dresser and a trunk for a closet. Amazingly there was still the same scene through the single window that there had been the first time he'd seen the room.

Harry closed the door behind him and stared at all the little details of the room, running a finger along the dresser and the wrought iron bed frame before he picked up the pillow off the bed delicately, bringing it to his nose and inhaling.

No. The room was good, but it didn't copy the scent that he'd remembered. The last time he'd been in here, the real here, her flowery shampoo had left it's smell on her pillow.

It was ridiculous how obsessed he was feeling about her. Possessive even. But she just... did things to him.

He was trying to keep some kind of polite decorum around her and particularly around their friends, but she'd opened his eyes to the pleasures of the flesh and he just wanted her all the time. The other day at the Burrow when he had her up against the tree, he'd almost let his body just take over completely and have at her how he really wanted but he'd held back a bit. He kept in mind that she was literally up against a tree and he could really hurt her if he wasn't as gentle as he could manage.

After their first time in his room she'd been sore, and she'd mentioned her tailbone hurting after their first time in the orchard. If he wasn't careful, she might start associating sex with pain and he really didn't want that.

He'd figured if he maybe took care of himself a little more regularly then he might be able to control himself around her better. Being in this room for that seemed a little pervy, but he was visiting it in his fantasies, and kind of couldn't help himself.

Curious about everything this room was able to replicate, Harry turned to her dresser and pulled open the top drawer. It was full of knickers and bras. One's she certainly didn't possess. They were all from that shop that Sirius had dragged him into before Christmas.

His body reacted to them, he felt himself growing slightly in his trousers. Reaching into the drawer he pulled out a lacy strip of knickers that would have had trouble covering up her curls down there, even with the subtle grooming he'd noticed she did for him. Closing his eyes, he pictured her on the small bed behind him wearing only these knickers, then rolling over so he could see the way it showed off her bum. The way the middle bit wouldn't be visible from between her cheeks.

With a groan he collapsed back on the bed and freed his growing erection from his trousers, grasping it firmly while he grew. He let a scene run through his mind of how she'd raise her lacy knicker covered lower half over his mouth, his eyes right in line with the lovely curve of her bum. He raised his head as though her was truly about to press his lips against her there. His tongue darted out of his mouth and met only air.

His head fell back against the mattress with a pout, his hand starting to pump.

Imaginary Ginny wasn't going to let him do all the work though, she'd lower her head to nuzzle the underside of his cock, burying her face against his recently made smooth scrotum as her hand took over for his. Then her mouth would tentatively come over the tip of his erection. Her tongue would swirl around the head.

His hips jerked up at the idea of her tongue lapping against the underside of his tip.

She'd get surer of herself with his eager and appreciative movements and sounds. She'd take more and more of him into her mouth, sucking him off in time with her hand movements. She'd moan at the taste of him. She'd appreciate the size of him, getting wetter herself as she thought of how much she'd want him inside her between her legs, but be determined to finish him off with her mouth first before demanding he make her cum as well. Her breasts would be bouncing with her enthusiastic movements.

With a loud groan he let himself squirt all over the bed sheets.

His needs satisfied it took a moment to realize that recreating his girlfriend's bedroom for a wank and calling up all those images that he had. Well. He found he was a little ashamed he couldn't control his lust.

But then again, she and Ron would be arriving in only a few hours. And he was desperately horny all the time. Perhaps he shouldn't feel weird about it. Guys wanked all the time. Whether it was with a porno mag, imagination or in a magically created replica of their girlfriends bedroom.

His edge was taken off, and now he would be around her and hold a conversation instead of just pawing at her. So, it was a good thing. It would help him be a better boyfriend.

**AN- With all the rules Hermione broke in Canon she had to have rationalized reasons for it. I tried to relay her rationalization for breaking into the Muggle facilities for you all. And am pretty proud of the research I did for that part. The people's names were made up, but the facilities and their locations were real.**


	19. Ladies- One at a time, please

**AN- Feel like I should have an Authors Note. The chapter looks weird with out one at the top...**

**()()()**

"Urgh." Ginny shook off the snow that had fallen on her head and shoulders as she'd sloughed through the snow with Ron when they arrived back at the castle. It was nice that they didn't have to take the train, but Harry had been able to Floo directly into the castle, that would have been much more favorable then going to the Twins flat and then walking all the way from Hogsmeade. Warming charms only did so much and even with her new coat the wind had a bite today.

Ron was beside her stamping off the snow from his boots in the entrance hall before they ascended the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. "If it's like this on Wednesday, I don't know if I want to have Quidditch practice." he complained.

"And if the kitchens were outside, would you give up food?" She asked in jest, knowing that it didn't matter the weather, there were two things that Ron would never skip out on; Quidditch and food.

He didn't respond, but she could hear his half hearted eye roll. Ron seemed to be a little bit more like himself the last few days. He'd reached out to Hermione and finally accepted that he had to move on. Whether that resolve would still be there when he was in the same space as Hermione again time would tell, but Harry had confided in her that Ron was interested in a few other girls too, which was good.

The castle was eerily quiet since the majority of students weren't back for another hour or two and Ginny was hoping to soak up some prime real estate in front of the fire in the common room with Harry before everyone got back.

They came through the portrait hole and saw only two others sitting at tables and finishing up their last-minute assignments. They looked like third or fourth years. Ginny gave them a friendly wave and headed up to her dorm to drop off her luggage before going in search of her boyfriend.

The girl's dorm room was easily the cleanest she'd ever seen it, and there wasn't any lingering smell of nail polish or perfume that came from Lavender and Parvati. Usually their beauty products didn't smell too bad, she herself liked it when they used vanilla scented things with a hit of a spice she couldn't quite nail down, but ultimately, she'd resorted to using a freshening charm around her bed to fall asleep to when the smells were too much. Hermione had helped her out with that trick the second night she'd stayed in the dorm.

It looked wrong just how clean the room was. Ginny preferred the 'lived in' quality that came from her messy dorm mates. Even Hermione had some clutter that usually built up on her night stand. As it was, the room seemed cold.

She opened the trunk at the foot of her bed and pulled her shrunken luggage out of her coat pocket and enlarged it, tucking her clothes and books away properly before removing her coat, pulling on a jumper and heading back down to find Harry. It was still just the two in the common room as she reached the balconied landing, so she continued up to the boy's dorm.

Ron was reclining on his bed with his trunk open and a Quidditch magazine, but no Harry in sight. "He isn't here." Ron told her unnecessarily.

"But his stuff is?" She asked, heading over to his trunk and making sure it was his new one, not his old one, and running a finger along the lid. "Guess I'll go try to track him down then." She resolved. "Leave you alone with your... magazine." She grinned as her brother blushed. The publication he'd been holding was much too thick for a Quidditch magazine only, she'd bet good money he had a porno mag tucked between the pages.

She skipped down the stairs with a humorous smile on her face. She'd accidentally walked in on far too many 'situations' her brothers had been in over the years. It was close quarters at the Burrow, but she tried not to tease them about it anymore than she had just done with Ron. They'd all been clearly embarrassed, and you got what you gave in the Weasley household. If she ragged on them about their private business it meant that she'd have her personal hygiene products messed with or something similar, and that would be embarrassing.

It was mid-afternoon now, so Harry might be visiting with Remus. It was as good a place as anywhere to start, so she headed for her DADA class.

It was nice to know that Harry and Sirius were getting along. Harry had seemed to be really comfortable at Sirius' house. And knowing Harry's history now, him having a proper guardian and one as fun as Sirius was made her happy. Harry deserved a loving parent type figure.

She herself hadn't spoken much to Sirius over the holidays. They'd gone to the Potter country house, and he seemed alright with her, having hugged it out after her idiotic move of writing in that Diary. But Sirius had been caught up reliving his teen years as they'd moved through that beautiful house, and she was there for support for Harry more than anything.

It had been such a beautiful home, and not at all what she'd pictured the generations of Potters living in. They'd been well off, and prominent in the Wizarding world, but the house in comparison to the grandeur behind their name was ridiculously simple.

Simple and perfect.

She was eager to go back when the weather was nice and explore the grounds. It was on a few acre's and she imagined there was more than woods beyond the manicured grounds. Perhaps she could convince Harry to invite her and their friends out for a weekend around his birthday. There were certainly enough rooms for everyone to stay in.

"Hello?" She knocked on the partially open door of the DADA classroom.

"Ginny!" Her professor greeted her happily from the front of the classroom. "You made it back a little earlier than the rest."

"I did. Ron and I came through the Floo to Hogsmeade instead of taking the train." She told him making her way to the first row of desks. "I was trying to find Harry, he wasn't in the tower." She explained.

"Kitchens maybe?" He offered. "He got back a few hours ago, but we only chatted for a minute before he went to get settled."

She nodded. "Did you have a good holiday?" She asked. She saw him twice after Christmas, but that was brief, and she'd been hung over that second time.

"I did, thank you. Yourself?" He smiled.

"It was great. Heard you had a good time at the New Year's get together." She intimated wryly, Sirius and Harry having told her about it. At his unimpressed expression she dropped her teasing. "Fine, fine. Spoil my fun. _Professor_." She gathered that he would prefer a stricter student/professor type banter when in the school.

"Miss Weasley." Came the Headmasters voice from the doorway behind her.

"Headmaster." She greeted, turning around and seeing the old man there.

"Ginevra here was just looking for Harry." Professor Lupin stated, sounding more like a question as to whether the Headmaster had come across him.

"I believe you may find him somewhere around the seventh floor." Dumbledore offered.

Professor Lupin sighed. "Ah, of course."

Ginny looked between the two of them in confusion, there was nothing on the seventh floor that she knew of that would draw Harry there. Taking that as a sign that the two men were gently requesting her to leave so they could discuss work she gave them a nod and headed for the door, closing it behind her.

Getting to the seventh floor required her to head back up to Gryffindor Tower and as she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady she saw it was open, and the unmistakable derriere of her beau swinging it open to enter the common room.

"Hey there Sailor." She called saucily as she rushed up the stairs to him.

He spun around at her call with his eyebrows up, no doubt thrown by her choice of flirtation. His face relaxed into a serene smile as she approached though. "Ginny." He said softly as she reached him, and he pulled her into his arms.

She pulled back from his hug and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I've been looking for you."

"Ahem!" The Fat Lady cleared her throat in annoyance.

"Sorry." Harry sighed to the portrait and guided them both back out into the corridor so the portrait could close. "Come on." He took Ginny's hand. "I have to show you something!" He beamed excitedly.

"Something on the seventh floor?" She asked with a smile.

"How did you know that?" He asked incredulously.

"Dumbledore mentioned it?" She posed as a question, looking for explanation.

"Right." Harry looked put out. "Well. I'll explain that once we get there."

She followed along, her hand in his, amused and interested. He led her just one floor up the stairs and down a bare stretch of corridor.

"Okay." He stopped. "Just. Wait right here." He pulled his hand from hers and paced back and forth until a door appeared out of the stone.

"What?" She started. "Oh!" Realization dawned on her. Sirius, the Headmaster and Professor Lupin must have found one of the items they were looking for in this hidden room, and Sirius had told Harry where it was.

Harry reached for the handle and waved her forward to come through the door with him. Whatever she had expected to find on the other side of the door it wasn't this. A smaller version of the Gryffindor common room. It was cozy and warm. "What?" Now she was just confused.

"This is the Room of Requirement." Harry told her proudly. "It can turn into almost anything you want!"

Her eyes went wide. "Anything?"

"Yeah! And look." He closed his eyes a moment and a tea service appeared on the table beside him.

Ginny's jaw dropped. "What! That's amazing." She went over to the table and picked up a scone, making sure it was real. "Have you just been up here playing in this room all afternoon?" She asked with a giggle, picturing Harry like a kid on Christmas morning making wishes. She had to narrow her eyes at him when a blush crept up his neck and he turned slightly bashful.

"I've tried a few things." He admitted. "It can't recreate the outside though, tried that, but it seems to be able to do anything that's indoors."

"Well." She looked over to the couch in front of the fireplace. "This is the perfect place to kick back and relax." She went over and pulled her jumper off settling down into the cushions, Harry joined her, and she snuggled up against him. They exchanged a few more kisses and then settled in against each other to just enjoy being able to be alone together again.

Ginny had been drifting off as she stared at the fire, Harry twirling a lock of her hair around between his fingers. It had been a nice companionable silence. "This is where I kissed you for the first time." Harry said absentmindedly some time later.

"I remember." She smiled. "You'd been quite the bumbling fool before that."

"Hey!" He protested half-heartedly. "Give me a break, I couldn't help that I got all nervous and flustered around you. It's your fault really."

Ginny snickered. "How is it my fault?"

He turned his head to nuzzle his nose against her hair. "You would just be standing so close and looking all perfect, with that smile you have and smelling so good."

"Oh yes, I was so cruel." She gave him her best mock understanding. "I'm kind of glad you were like that though. Helped me work up the nerve to make a move." She told him honestly.

"What?"

"Well, after that bonding session in the Prefects bathroom I wasn't sure what was going on in your head. You'd essentially bolted away from me." She explained with a pout.

Harry started laughing. "Oh, Ginny! I only bolted because I desperately needed a wank!" He told her unabashedly. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to hide that fact from everyone? You were in a bikini!"

"Oh really?" She asked in intrigue and got up on her knees to sit facing him. "Do you do that a lot thinking about me?"

He gave a swallow and had an uncertain look in his eye but nodded.

She couldn't help the proud feeling going through her. Yes, she'd felt his erections against her from early on, but to know that she fueled him when it was just himself too it made her feel so desired and powerful. It was a wonderful feeling. "And after our first kiss, did you happen to go back to your dorm room and think of a different ending to that evening?" She asked boldly.

Harry stared intently into her eyes, his iris' growing darker slightly, and he slowly nodded.

And idea coming into her head, Ginny grinned at him and grabbed for her wand that she'd set down on the coffee table, turning it on herself to transfigure her clothes into the sleep shirt and shorts she'd been wearing that night. "Was my hair down?" She asked him as seductively as she could manage. He shook his head, watching her with wide eyes. She pulled her hair up and tied it into a loose bun. "Like this?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah." He looked down at her chest and smiled tracing the line under her cleavage with his thumb. "I remember being grateful that you were wearing a bra." He said and leaned over to kiss her neck. "But then you started stretching." He said softly.

She shivered at his tone and the feel of his breath on her skin. His hand came to her side, grazing up to cup her breast while he kissed his way up her neck. "I remember giving you a back rub." She whispered, it coming out breathier than she'd meant.

"You said I was 'so hard'." He chuckled. "And I was." He confirmed, whispering it in her ear.

Ginny bit her lip and moved to straddle him, now feeling that hardness against her inner thigh and shifting so it was placed perfectly against her center. She kissed him deeply, gently delving her tongue into his mouth just a bit and pulling back to suck on his lower lip lightly. "Was this what you'd been hoping for that night?" She asked, rocking against him.

His hands came to grasp and knead her bum as he ground slowly and deliberately against her. "Yes." He managed. "But those shorts of yours worked their way to the side." His finger dipped low behind her and she shivered as it ran along her slit.

"My clothes stayed on?" She asked curiously.

"Of course." He grinned at her, looking deep into her eyes while their lower selves continued their movements. "See, you are a quality girl." He came forward and nipped at her neck again, licking the spot he'd nipped in slow circles before pulling back again. "Quality girls don't get naked after one evening of snogs."

"Oh, but they do pull their knickers aside for a discrete dicking, do they?" She bit her lip and grinned, rocking herself more intently against him.

He huffed out a single chuckle that turned to a groan, closing his eyes and resting his head back. "Only for the right guy, and only if he plays his cards right."

Ginny hummed. "Definitely the right guy. And you're holding all the cards." Her hand came between them and she undid his button, unzipping his fly before he helped her out by pushing his erection through the flap in his boxers. She moved her shorts to the side and lowered herself onto him with a satisfied groan. That initially feeling of being filled making her feel light headed and satisfied all at the same time, it was still a rather foreign feeling as they hadn't been having sex long. "Oh, so good." She sighed and started up her rocking movements again.

Harry's hands ran up and down her thighs, gripping her and encouraging her movements while he thrust upwards as much as his position allowed.

"Is this what you pictured?" She asked in a husky voice as she slid him in and out of her in rhythm with her racing heart. "Me riding you on the couch in the common room?"

"Uh, yes." He groaned. "In the classiest way possible." He gave a crooked smile.

"Right." She panted. "Because I'm a 'quality' girl."

"No." He moved his hands to grip her hips. "Because you're my quality girl." Harry captured her lips for a deep kiss.

She rested her forehead against his as she gripped the back of the couch for more leverage. "Yes. Yours."

This position was becoming a work out for her thighs, but the feeling of restriction created from her clothing the way her shorts were bunching along her bum and her clit on the other side were overpowering the discomfort. It was hot! If they'd done this the first night they'd kissed it would have been so wrong. So wrong for him to have been this deep inside her. Wrong for her to have gotten so wet for him.

Oh, but now it was so right.

So right that her muscles were beginning their dance of contracting tighter around him as that pressure that felt so right was building inside her. So right that she was going to cum around his dick that was so hard inside her.

She cried out her finish and kept moving on top of him as the waves of pleasure subsided.

Ginny sighed as the last vestiges of her orgasm left her, then felt the discomfort of her leg muscles tap at her brain, letting her know that she couldn't keep this up much longer. Harry wasn't there yet though. Adjusting herself into a slightly wider stance she attached herself to his lips and switched their rhythm. Small movements up and down in time with how she was kissing him. Two small kisses, and one deep one. From the guttural groan he gave her, this was a tactic worth repeating. Two small up and down movements, one nearly complete unsheathing before coming down on him again.

His arms came around her, hugging her tight to his chest while she tried to keep up the movements. She could tell he was close. He was almost whimpering against her mouth until he finally let go with a groan, his arms loosening and giving her her range of motion back. She rode out his finish proudly before finally stopping and sitting still.

"Something like that?" She asked smugly.

"Exactly." He sighed with his eyes closed an a big smile on his face.

()()()

Hermione stood in front of the Gargoyle that led to the Headmasters office. She was standing in the same spot she had been standing for the past ten minutes. She'd taken the train back to school and shared a compartment with Neville. They'd been sharing stories from their holiday and he introduced her properly to his girlfriend Luna Lovegood before the two of them found somewhere private.

If anything was going to pull her head out of the Tom Riddle mystery that had been cycling through her brain for days and weeks on end, it was Luna Lovegood. And after reading so many issues of the Quibbler, she really shouldn't have expected anything less, she'd known about her of course, but never been in her prolonged presence or shared in conversation with her before. Because while Luna was a sweet girl, and rather shrewd, her verbalization of fantastical theories and blunt approach to conversations was disarming. She'd actually turned to Neville at one point and said they should find somewhere good to snog before everywhere was taken and it'd be rude to do it in front of her.

Luna didn't seem to understand the word 'discrete'.

Hermione had ridden the rest of the way alone, save for one patrol, going over her notes again. She was going to ask Headmaster Dumbledore for access to his school records. And she would need to tell him why.

She held a copy of young Tom Riddle's theorized childhood told from her perspective based on her findings from his Orphanage and Primary School records. She'd whipped it all together Friday evening and Saturday, telling her parents she'd been working on an extra credit project. It was rough, but it was a start.

"Have you figured out your wording, Miss Granger?" Came a pleasant voice behind her.

Hermione jumped and spun around to see her Headmaster was behind her, waiting patiently. "Headmaster! I- I was just coming to see you." She managed in a squeak.

"I gathered that. However, you seemed to be having trouble moving forward from this spot. If you like I could go into my office and wait for you there?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"No." She blushed. "I just have a request and, well, yes I was going over the best way to ask."

"And what have you come up with?" He asked with a gentle incline of his head.

"Would you allow me access to previous student records for a research project I am working on?" She spewed out.

"Previous student records?" He repeated. "May I ask what this research project is? Or whom it is in particular that you are seeking the records of?"

Hermione looked up and down the halls, unsure if this would be the best place to say his name. There wasn't anyone else wandering about, and most didn't know his real name anyway. She cleared her throat. "Tom Riddle." She nearly whispered, glancing down at the hem of her Headmasters robes when she said it.

He said nothing and her eyes darted up to his face. He didn't look overly surprised. "Perhaps we should continue this conversation in my office." Dumbledore walked around her and towards the gargoyle. "Hob Nob". The gargoyle moved aside, and Hermione followed in behind him.

Once he was seated behind his desk Hermione launched into her reason. She told him about how it all started, with she and her friends trying to help Harry learn about the last war, then about her visiting the Ministry over the holidays and finding out who You-Know-Who actually was. She told him about visiting the Muggle facilities and discovering his parentage and early life, now she was looking for his Hogwarts school records to discover that portion of his life.

"To what end?" The Headmaster asked her finally.

"To. To get the information readily available. So that the public will know how it is that one man with these horrible ideals managed to rise to power like he did. So, people won't be afraid of him anymore!" She exclaimed as though it was obvious.

"And to profit off of it?" He pried.

"What?!" She asked loudly, immediately offended at the insinuation that she was just out for a juicy and illustrious story, like Rita Skeeter. "This isn't just because I could potentially sell the story. It is because this awful man has been gone for fifteen years and people are still afraid to say the name Voldemort. Which, by the way, is an anagram from his given name. Did you know?"

He responded with a raise of his eyebrows. His gaze held her eyes intently for a moment before he inclined his head. "Just his school records then? Nothing else?"

"Um. Well." She had an innate need to know everything. She felt like she was someone that could be trusted, and she was already doing all this research on Tom Riddle, if there was something else going on with him that Sirius and Harry knew, and Ginny apparently, then she wanted to know too. Sirius had said that if Headmaster Dumbledore gave his consent that she could know what it was Harry clued into when Sirius mentioned Borgin and Burkes and 'acquiring items'. "About his formative years, after Hogwarts, there- I'm good at research, and if you were trying to track down items that may have belonged to him for some reason, perhaps I could help.

There was a slight uptick to the corner of his mouth causing his mustache bristles to twitch in humor. "I understand that Mister Potter and Mister Black may have inadvertently hinted something of that effect to you."

"They told you?" She blushed.

"No. I do know of your friendship with Mister Potter and as I have been working with his new guardian on this project over the holidays, one can draw conclusions."

She nodded. "It's just that. Well. I would like to be able to have a fully rounded history of him."

"So, you can let the masses know." He implored. "And does a veritable 'how to' guide for becoming a feared Dark Lord sound like a good idea?"

"It wouldn't be a 'how to' guide." She argued forcibly. "It would humanize him. People are still afraid to say his name. That is ridiculous! It is a made-up name. No one is afraid to say Adolf Hitler, and he was equally a political terrorist attempting genocide. But muggles all know his history, and they have learned from his mistakes. There is compassion now, an understanding of wrong doing. I would be searching to do the same thing for Tom Riddle, so the people aren't afraid anymore."

"Miss Granger." He raised a lazy hand in front of him in an attempt to calm her down. "The difference is that Adolf Hitler was a muggle. One that committed suicide due to his failure. Tom Riddle was a wizard, who still has followers out there that may come after the, I'm sorry, young Muggleborn witch 'slandering' his name."

"I could write it anonymously." She argued. "I'm not looking to do this to make money." She reiterated then paused, rapidly thinking through the reasons why the Headmaster would be against this. He had been the one to defeat Grindiwald, who had been equally a tyrant and yet there was a publication out about him that Albus Dumbledore had given an interview for. There hadn't been a lot of information provided by him for the book, but he had willingly given it, so why would he be so against this unless Tom Riddle still posed some kind of threat.

"You don't believe he's gone." She stated in surprise, chills running up her arms. As she waited for him to deny that she was horrified to see nothing about his expression was telling her that the assumption was incorrect. "But." She thought back to all the articles she'd read about the night that Harry had killed him, there hadn't been any reports of the body, but she'd assumed the Ministry had taken him away immediately. Apparently, that wasn't the case. She leaned forward resting her elbows on her knees. "Oh." Was all she could manage.

"Miss Granger." The Headmaster said in a gently warning voice.

"I understand." She stopped him from giving her any kind of patronizing explanation. "You believe he is still out there. That he survived somehow." She swallowed and looked back up at him. "But how?"

"That is something that a few of us are currently working on. And I would appreciate it if you didn't share this with anyone, nor your discoveries thus far about his youth."

She felt a stab to her gut with that. "You don't deem me trustworthy?"

"It is a 'need to know' situation we are dealing with, and until we have all the facts." He raised his hands in an open gesture.

"Harry and Sirius Black were 'need to know'?" She asked quizzically. "Ginny was 'need to know'?" Hermione pressed.

Something about his expression tightened momentarily when she mentioned Ginny knowing, but it flashed across his face then was gone. He continued, "Miss Granger, please understand that this is volatile information and until I know more, you cannot."

"So, you won't let me see his school file." She asked him straight.

"To what end?"

She sat up straight. "I can see how knowledge like this is dangerous. A mass panic would break out if people knew he was still alive out there somewhere, but that isn't going to stop me from trying to learn as much about him as possible. Making him human instead of some entity unto himself can only serve to help. And if, one day, he does come back and start his reign of terror again, then I have no qualms about letting everyone know that he is prejudiced against himself, and it would be better to share that information before he tries to come back to power, not after."

The headmaster considered her for a moment.

"The early life of this generations most evil dictator, nothing about the evil he did to get there, just about his genealogy and school life." Hermione stated.

"An interesting idea."

"So... yes?" She asked hopefully.

He left his gaze on her as the gears in his brain worked through the possible ramifications of her proposal.

"Look. I already have everything I would need to know about his life before Hogwarts. I know where he worked after Hogwarts. I know that he was Slytherin, Head Boy, and received accommodation for 'Services to the School' that was in fact given for erroneously accusing Hagrid of being responsible for a monster that killed a girl. Oh!" Her eyes went wide. "Moaning Myrtle! How did I not see that before?" She looked into the middle distance, eyes wide, as she re read the article in her head about Myrtle Warren. It had been years since she accidentally used Moaning Myrtle's toilet and had nearly forgotten about the young girl ghost. She shook her head. "What I'm saying is" She pressed. "I know some of what he did while at school here, and I would like to know more that has solid evidence of what he was like, not just hear-say from people whose memories of him are subjective. So please." She pressed in a steady tone. "May I see his school file?"

"You make a valid point." He conceded. "I will ask that you give me some time to think this over."

"How much time?" She asked cautiously. She'd gone to rather extreme lengths to procure his information from the Muggles, she didn't want to resort to using the same methods here where she could easily be implicated, she might attempt it if she had to but coming to the Headmaster and getting it through approved methods was preferable.

"One week."

"One week?" She repeated hopefully. That wasn't too long. "Okay. Thank you." She allowed herself a relieved smile and rose from her seat.

"And Miss Granger?" He asked. "I would very much like to read what you have written about him."

She felt the glow on her cheeks. It had been a lot of work compiling everything she had so far, and it was interesting. Having someone as revered as Albus Dumbledore interested in reading something she'd come up with would be a point of pride, particularly if he approved of it. "I would be happy to show you a polished draft, once I have one."

()()()

Amelia fell to her side, head landing on the pillow and lay still save for the great heaving breaths that her blood was demanding. She really needed to get more exercise and increase her stamina. He did too actually. The way he'd crashed after they'd done it at her flat last weekend showed her just how much it had taken it out of him. Neither of them were twenty any more.

"That was so good." He drawled out, only half conscious and panting.

"Nice to know if all else fails I'm still good at sex." She smiled with her eyes closed savoring the last bit of euphoria from her orgasm which was ebbing away rapidly as her body relaxed.

She'd only popped over fifteen minutes ago, but they'd gotten right to business. She'd wanted to discuss actual business with him though but pushed it aside in favor of fulfilling some needs that sprung up at the sight of him. And the feel of him. The things he could do with his hands and mouth made her so wanton.

As they lay there recovering her mind wandered back to her to-do list. She'd worked so hard to get where she was, and now that she was a Department Head, she had to work just as hard to not be proclaimed incompetent and ousted. Having a never ending to do list dancing through her head had become a side effect of her climb up the Ministerial ladder. Now she couldn't shut it off, even when in bed having just ravaged a very sexy man.

"I have to talk to you about something." She told Sirius once her heart rate was back approaching normal.

"Is it how much you like those knickers I got you? Because talking about that might get me ready for another round in a mere moment." He purred at her, rolling onto his side and pulling her against him.

She leaned toward him and gave him a kiss on his neck before sitting up and pulling the bed covers around herself. "No. It's about that Deed."

He gave a small groan. "Urgh, it's about your work."

"It's about your Godson." She clarified. She'd tried not to talk about her job with him, but it was what occupied the majority of her life. Her only priorities for so long had only been her job, her family, her sleep. That is all there had been for several years. By the time she'd agreed to see him romantically she'd been years overdue for a shag. "The wording of it, and the date. It would have been Dumbledore that made it, correct?"

Sirius reluctantly sat up, fluffing the pillows up behind him to lean against the headboard. "Yes, Dumbledore was the one that dumped him off there. And before you say anything more, I've already laid into him about choosing them for Harry instead of the Longbottom's or Weasleys or even my cousin Andromeda. Now that I've met Dora properly, I think Harry would have loved it there."

"Did Harry's parents know any of them well?" She asked, wondering if the Dursleys would have ever been considered a backup choice if Sirius was unable to take their child.

"They knew Frank and Alice Longbottom. I believe Augusta would have taken Harry in if she was asked, even though she had Neville too. I believe that two children their age would have been easier actually. Then they would have had at least each other to play with and entertain. As for if they knew Andromeda or the Weasley's; Lily and Andromeda knew each other pretty well, but I was just spewing out names of good wizarding families that would have taken him in without hesitation." He sighed. "I'm sure there were worse guardians out there for him, but still. The poor kid suffered through a lot living there."

Amelia nodded. "I read the records that Hayley and Tonks found." It had been heart breaking to see his health records and notes home from his teachers, the address on his school letter was awful all on on its own as well. "But. The thing I don't quite understand is how Dumbledore would have known to bribe them to take Harry in, and how that wouldn't have been a red flag."

Sirius frowned at her, looking depressed. "There were blood wards around the house because of Petunia Dursley. He claimed that it was that protection for Harry that he was seeking."

"He just went ahead and decided that? Took over your roll as guardian before that whole business with Peter came about?" She asked incredulously.

"There's more behind the scene's stuff going on there. But essentially, yes." He admitted.

She just stared at him. Dumbledore was an impressive wizard and had been a just Headmaster, but for him to have taken the reigns when it came to Harry Potter's well being, clearly that hadn't been something he should have been in charge of. She wanted to ask Dumbledore what had given him the right, but that wasn't her place. Her meeting with Harry had been confidential, only Harry or Sirius could bring it up with Dumbledore. But it was so frustrating, and she wanted to make sure that that didn't happen to any other orphaned children.

It wouldn't be too much to set up something with the Auror Department to have them check in on magical children once every other year or so and make sure that their health and welfare were in check. The Magical births were recorded, not with addresses, but they would be easy enough to track down. The hardest part would be getting it approved by the Wizengamut. She'd need to prove that it was a necessity, or in everyone's best interest. It shouldn't only apply to orphaned children either. The Muggles had something for this, so it had precedent.

"I'm just going to go and get something from the kitchen while you're doing... whatever you're doing." Sirius shook his head and got up from the bed, pulling on his jeans. "You know." He paused before leaving the room. "I appreciate you being concerned for Harry's welfare and all, but if you could not be thinking of work while we're in bed together?" He said it to her nicely enough but closed the door with a little more force than necessary.

Amelia winced.

She was very invested in her job, but if Sirius had been in bed with her and his mind had immediately switched over to motorcycles and effectively ignoring her in preference, she'd get annoyed too. And this wasn't the first time she'd gotten stuck in a work loop in her mind when they were together.

()()()

As daunting as this problem was it was also rather nice to have a challenge. Four years now of teaching the same subject, the lesson plans were already written, and the essays were becoming monotonous. He'd almost wanted to use the stair method of grading at this point.

That gave him a chuckle, remembering when he heard of that approach from a Muggle professor he'd met at a pub by a bookstore he'd used to work at in his mid-twenties. The old man had been teaching the same psychology course at Leeds for over a decade and simply took all of the papers turned in by his students and tossed them up the stairs. Whichever stair they settled on dictated their grade.

It wasn't ethical, but it would be time saving.

It was the first evening back after students returned from their holidays, with their assignments. These essays all had the same text quoted in them. His method he'd resorted to didn't even have him reading through the entirety of the essays he received. He simply measured the parchment handed in and cast a spell to highlight certain words he was looking for. It wasn't lazy, it was efficient.

Essays were so boring.

But now. Now he had a project to work on. Two actually.

And it was so nice to get his brain working again. How it is that Minerva had taught the same subject for over thirty years he didn't know. It was no wonder she had that pursed look on her face. It must have been decades since she'd seen an original outlook on Transfiguration cross her desk. She must be bored as all give out.

Now that there was a proper Dark Arts research project for him it was getting his gears going again. The reason for it might be quite daunting, but now that he had his friend back and his relationship with Harry was going so great, he himself was feeling more energetic and capable than he had in a long time.

In fact, doing the research to find out a method of pulling the Horcruxes out of the objects they were being contained in was reminding him of his school days when he, James and Sirius were creating the Marauders Map and searching the castle for the secret rooms and passwords. It was a challenge, but doable with enough time and the right tools. Because there had to be a way to pull the pieces of soul out of the objects. There was a way to put them in, so the opposite must be true.

That was project number one; Removing and destroying the pieces of Voldemort's soul. Project two would prove to be so much more difficult.

It was when he talked to Harry on Christmas, when they were alone together, that he started thinking about it. If Voldemort was out there, then he would be in wraith form. He was disembodied the night he tried to kill Harry, Remus knew that for sure. And he now knew that Quirinus Quirrell had been playing host to the wraith until five years ago. It was most likely that Quirrell began playing host while he had been in Albania.

They now knew that Albania had been where Lady Grey had hidden the Diadem, so perhaps there was something about Albania that had drawn him back there for the third time. And if he was, then they would need to find some way of containing him if they could track him down. Him, It, Remus wasn't sure just what to classify the wraith. Containment of one would be difficult, particularly if there were to try and transport it to a secure location once/if they did capture what was left of him.

Wards could be placed around a spirit or a wraith to stop it from leaving a certain area, that was how Wizard kind had managed to contain poltergeists to a particular area and minimize the mayhem they could cause. But if he was in Albania then they would want to have the ability to transport him back to Britain, and probably lock him up in his own special reinforced room in the Department of Mysteries until they could figure out how to destroy him for good.

Remus had a book on wraiths he was reading his way through for some little tidbit of information that might be helpful, and another book on wards that was waiting for him when there was a knock at his door. He quickly disillusioned his far wall with his research thus far and marked the page in his book.

"Come in." He let his feet down from the desk as the door opened.

He'd been expecting it would be a student handing in a late assignment, seeing Nymphadora Tonks walk in sporting a tight outfit beneath her opened trench coat and long dark hair pulled up into a ponytail with purple ends had him frozen in his seat. She'd been quite flirty with him on New Year's Eve and had popped up in a few suggestive day dreams he'd had since, but surely she'd just been trying to get a raise out of him, it had just been a game of hers to see how flustered she could get him. But here she was in his office wearing a low-cut top and a saucy expression.

"Hello Professor." She winked and grinned at him. "Like what you've done with your office." She took in the walls.

Remus blinked at her a few times before pulling his eyes away and looking around him. He hadn't done anything to this space. It had a desk, a filing cabinet and a chalk board. There was nothing personal about the office at all, aside from the window it gave off the impression of being in a dungeon. He'd just never thought to make it look any other way.

"Um. What. What brings you here?" He managed, then sat up straight. "Is it Auror business?"

She came into the office properly and sat at the seat across from him. "It is actually." She told him slowly.

As she adjusted in the seat to make herself comfortable, he couldn't help noticing that her breasts were quite a bit larger than they had been last week. His brow furrowed slightly at that. Did she think she had to use her Metamorphmagus skills to make herself more attractive to men? She'd looked lovely in her dress with her brown hair at her parents. Surely that must have been the real her, her mum and dad would have called her out on any changes she made.

"Remember how I talked about implementing a shadowing program with the Auror department with Harry?" Dora started off.

"Right!" He did remember. "I thought that would be a great idea. There are far too many kids that come out of their Career Counseling sessions with the Auror Program in mind and don't think about all the downsides of the job."

"There are. And giving these kids a realistic idea of what being an Auror entails will save the Ministry and the Auror Program Instructors a lot of head ache. There are only five of us from my year that are still Auror's and we started out with fifteen making it to Junior Auror's." She nodded. "I've submitted an official request to Amelia Bones and she approves of the idea and will be submitting it to the Wizengamut for final approval."

"That's fantastic!" He was impressed really. It normally took the Ministry forever to get anything going. When she brought it up with Harry he was sure it was a pipe dream. "That was a quick turn around."

"Well, it hasn't received the final approval yet, but hopefully we'll have it at the end of this month after their next meeting." She leaned forward and rested her elbows on his desk with her arms crossed. "I was hoping you might come with me to talk to Dumbledore about it and get his support."

He was doing his best not to look at her chest. She was essentially showcasing herself for him, and he didn't understand if she was doing it intentionally. She was a decade younger than him and attractive, if she _was_ flirting with him, then why?

"I can certainly accompany you in that meeting." He nodded.

"Great!" She stood up. "He's expecting us in ten minutes. It's still early too, how about you accompany me to the Three Broomsticks after while I grab some dinner and a pint? We can talk more about it."

Remus managed an affirmative sounding response, but he couldn't figure out her game.

Dumbledore had thought it was a wonderful idea, and one that shouldn't be limited to just the Auror department either. There were several career paths out there that should allow job shadowing before requiring a committed training process and he had a few ideas for who to contact to implement this program in the various sectors throughout the Ministry and St. Mungo's and the like.

It had been a relatively short meeting and Remus found himself sitting across from Dora at a booth in the Three Broomsticks only 45 minutes after she'd arrived in his office. It wasn't at all how he'd thought his evening would go, and he was still utterly confused by her behavior. She'd been making a few suggestive comments that he wasn't quite sure whether he was supposed to be laughing at them or returning them.

When she got up to use the loo he gave a look around the pub to see if there might be a bloke that was a comparable amount of attractive to her and in her age range. His brain telling him that she might just be using him to make someone jealous. But there were only a handful of others' there, and most were older couples save for one heavily cloaked man in his mid-forties with a scraggly beard.

It just didn't make any sense.

He was having a great time with her. She was funny and made a few insightful jokes. She'd also listened intently to his stories of his school years with his mates and asked thoughtful questions. If this were a date, then he'd have to say that it was going very well. He just wasn't sure what the hell was going on, and it was getting on in the evening.

"Time for one more drink?" She asked when she arrived back at the booth and pushed their empty shared plate to the side where Rosmerta could easily reach it.

"Erm." He checked the clock and then looked back at her. This had been a very enjoyable, yet confusing, evening and truthfully, he wasn't ready to head back to the castle and brood over what the hell had just happened. "Yes. I think I should switch to tea." He raised his hand to flag down Rosmerta.

"Oh, go on. Make it a Hot Toddy at least." Her eyes sparkled a bit as she suggested it.

"Trying to get me drunk?" He chuckled and joked.

She shrugged. "Might help you loosen up a bit."

His eyebrows went up. "You think I need loosening up?"

"Yes." She told him easily enough. "You're tense. It took you two drinks before you were able to respond verbally to one of my lewd comments instead of just looking uncomfortable."

'Oh'. He thought. 'So, this is a 'friends' thing.' "Well, it's been a long time since I've had the company of someone other than Hogwarts Professors." He started. "They aren't the most crass of drinking companions." He grinned. "And I haven't had Sirius back long enough to revert back to my old ways."

She tilted her head and grinned. "You mean you and Severus Snape down regularly swap witticisms over the uninspired shagging locations for students throughout the school?"

Remus snorted and felt himself unwinding a little more at her calling out. "No, trust me. We have monthly meetings and have to share the names of students that have been caught. It gets old really quick."

"Well, as a former gallivanting youth through those halls yourself I'm sure you have some experience with the best spots to hole up with someone so you don't get caught."

Rosemerta made it over to them and Dora ordered them both Hot Toddies before Remus could open his mouth, but he didn't object.

"I wish some of the students would try and get a little more creative about it. At least then it would be somewhat of a challenge. There are so many more comfortable places to get up to that business rather than a broom cupboard." He shook his head.

"Or the Astronomy Tower." She snickered.

"Yes!" He rolled his eyes. "I suppose teenagers must think it's romantic or something, but it isn't. It's bloody cold, and four other couples had the same idea."

"My favorite was the Prefects Bathroom." She stared off. "Dated a boy in my sixth year that was a seventh-year prefect." She sighed and gave him a grin. "Ah, first times."

"Your first time was in the Prefect's Bathroom?" He choked out, feeling a little uncomfortable again. This time it was due to a stirring in his trousers though when he pulled up the image of her in the bath ready and waiting for sex. He'd have very much preferred being able to get up from the booth with out the hard on that was threatening from this conversation.

Their drinks floated over to them and she took a sip and sighed, resting back in her seat and looking at him with hooded eyes. "Yes. Where was yours? At the castle as well?"

"Well. Yes, I would gather about 85% of Hogwarts students have their first time at the school, but most would opt for a bed at least."

"You mean in a dorm room with silencing spells, so your four other dorm mates don't overhear?" She challenged. "Wasn't quite interested in the possibility of getting caught sneaking out of the boy's dorm in the morning, thank you. Certainly not after my first time."

"Point there." He conceded, never having thought about it that way. "I suppose the Prefects Bathroom at least offered that bit of privacy." Then he gave a wince. "But why would you tell me that. Now every time I go in there, I'll-" He stopped himself from saying more.

"Think about me naked and panting?" She smirked. "Maybe that was my plan."

Remus just stared at her then, seeing her sitting in the booth, but also picturing her against the side of the bath, waiting with only her bare shoulders and the hint of her chest visible above the water to display her nakedness. He cleared his throat and took a sip of his drink. Hot Toddy was a good suggestion.

"So, if this program gets pushed through then I'll be meeting up with you again to set up a time that I could come and speak to the students about what they need to do to sign up." She changed the subject.

"Yes." He latched on. "And I can assist with arranging some weekend shadow sessions as well if they have permission to leave the school for them before summer."

They discussed a few more benefits to the program and all the different career paths they might be able to set up shadowing for until their drinks were done, and they made for the door.

"Well, I don't see a reason for this program to get rejected." He stated once they were outside the pub.

"Nor do I, so hopefully we'll be working together soon and have more opportunities to pretend that that is the reason we went out for drinks." She replied jovially.

"Yes. Wait, what?" He stilled in his habit of checking all his pockets once bundled up and outside and looked back up at her.

She took him by the collar of his coat and pulled his lips to hers before he had a chance to replay exactly what it was she had just said to him. His eyes closed of their own accord as her mouth moved against his, his hand instinctively going to the small of her back and pulling her closer. The smell of her invaded his senses she smelled of spring soap with a hint of vanilla, so subtle and so intoxicating.

It took him a moment to wrap his head around what was happening. She was kissing him. She was kissing him hard. This wasn't a casual peck, she was grasping him by the collar for fucks sake.

It had been so long since he'd felt the touch of a woman like this and the animal side of him was interested in asserting its dominance and causing him to take charge of the kiss. He pulled her tightly against him and walked them back to press her against the side of the building, lifting her slightly so she would wrap her legs around him while he gave her a bruising kiss.

His primal instincts were taking charge. He had worked so hard to suppress them over they years, but she felt so good, she smelled so good. And taste. His tongue invaded her mouth and he could taste the Hot Toddy she'd had.

Her moan of approval was all it took for him to rock his erection against her core. She gasped and pulled her head back, exposing her neck. He was so wildly aroused that he made that movement again and lowered his head to lick and suck at the skin there while her hand fisted in his hair.

"Remus." She tugged on his hair in an effort to pull him back from her, possibly to slow things down. He couldn't think clearly though. He could smell her arousal now. The animal was out of its cage and couldn't ignore it's needs. She tried again. "R-Remus."

He took her lips with his own again to silence her and kneaded her bottom with one hand while the other went to palm her chest. She squeaked against his mouth when he did so and that slightly distressed noise brought him back to himself enough to pull away.

She nearly fell to the snow-covered ground with how quickly he released her and backed away with wide eyes. "I. I'm sorry." He told her, horrified with how fast he let that get out of hand. "I think I may have had too much to drink." He kept backing away from her.

Dora righted herself and hugged her trench closed in front of her, but she didn't look frightened, just slightly ravaged and confused. "Remus, wait."

"No." He took another step back. "No. I think I'll head back to the castle now, and you should get home." He turned to walk away. "We'll be in touch, about. About the program." He mentally shook his head to clear his thoughts and try to focus on getting away. Her footsteps were crunching in the snow towards him though, so he Apparated to the Hogwarts gates and let out a sigh of relief that he could now only hear the wind through the trees.

That was too close.

It had happened before that he'd been with a woman and been a touch too rough with her. That relationship hadn't lasted, and he was sure it was because of that. She'd thought he was hiding the fact that he was into BDSM, when really it had just been the animal inside him just desperate to mate in the way animals do.

He walked back to the castle with his teeth clenched so hard that his jaw hurt, he was so angry with himself. She'd only kissed him, and he'd felt the need to push her up against a wall and take her right there.

On display.

He turned and made for the Owlery. He needed to apologize right away to her. That can't have been a pleasurable experience for her, no matter what her pheromones had been telling him, he couldn't have her being afraid to work with him.


	20. Care to Explain?

**Chapter 20- Care to explain that?**

**()()()**

They were in need of a real talk. She and Hermione had been busy since getting back to school, even if it had only been two days. More Hermione being busy than Ginny, Quidditch practice didn't start until tomorrow after all. And there was no doubt that Hermione had gotten all her assignments done, and then some, over the holidays.

Harry had told her about how Hermione had figured out about Tom Riddle, so Ginny knew that was occupying some of the girl's brain, if not all of it.

The thing was, the last two evenings when the group of friends had been gathered in the common room, Hermione hadn't really been 'present'.

She'd been sitting there with the rest of them, and she and Ron didn't seem too awkward around each other, but her mind had obviously been on other things. Ginny told the boys that she was going to spend the evening with Hermione and see how the girl was really doing. The boys too were all slightly concerned with how spacey she was getting.

When the professor asks a question in class and Hermione's hand doesn't go shooting straight into the air, you know something is wrong.

The two of them had Ancient Runes as their last class of the day that Tuesday and then had made a study date to go to the Library and get some work done. Ginny was determined to get to the bottom of what was going on with her then. But as the class began filing out and Hermione took her time putting her books away Ginny grew more concerned.

Generally, when they had a study date planned Hermione would shoot out of class and dart for the Library to square off a section of a table for them. Now however, she seemed to be too wrapped up in her head to move quickly.

Ginny narrowed her eyebrows as Hermione's satchel was finally filled, closed and strung over her shoulder. They reached the hallway that was now empty of other students before she said anything. "Alright. That's it." Ginny told her. "What is going on? Why are you being so weird?"

Hermione slowed her pace even more and looked around them to ensure they weren't going to be overheard. "You. You know how I'm studying up on Tom Riddle, also known as-"

Ginny held up her hand. "Yes, I know. And that has been the only thing making you act like this? Really?" She asked skeptically. Hermione was very invested in her studies, doing work on her side project shouldn't have made her any less eager in class though.

"Well. There is something I feel I have to do, but I've been trying to work out just how to do it in my head. And..." She shrugged a bit and didn't finish.

"What?" Ginny pried. "Is it something that discussing it with someone else would help? Because, hello." She waved her hand once with wide eyes and gestured to herself. "I'll even keep it to myself if you're worried about that. I promise."

Hermione stopped and stared at her a moment, twisting her lip. "It's just. I don't know how she's going to react."

"She?!" Ginny asked incredulously. She'd been sure Hermione's mood had more to do with the break-up with Ron than she'd been letting on. Or perhaps she was throwing herself into this project than she would have so that she didn't have to think about their break-up. But to hear that Hermione needed to talk to some female about Tom Riddle, well that was very interesting. Ginny's mind immediately went to the possibility of who it could be. Then she internally winced taking into consideration who she knew that would have known the young Tom Riddle and why. Like how Professor McGonagall would have possibly gone to school with him, and perhaps she was 'involved' with him.

Hermione stared at her hard and sucked in a deep breath through her nose before asking. "Will you come with me on a detour right now?"

"Of course." Ginny said without hesitating. "But can you fill me in a bit?" She couldn't help the cringe that came to her face at the possibility that she was about to talk to McGonagall about a regretful former lover.

"Yes." Hermione nodded and looked around them. The corridor was still empty, but she took Ginny's hand and led her over to an empty study close by them. "Homenum Revelio." She brandished her wand, ensuring the room was empty.

Ginny took a seat up on the desk. "Alright. Out with it." She was unsure if she should be worried about what her friend had to say.

"Have you used the girls loo on the second floor?" Hermione asked.

"What?" Whatever Ginny had anticipated coming out of Hermione's mouth, that was absolutely not it.

"The girls' toilet on the second floor. I've made the mistake of using it a few times before when I was bursting, and it was the closest one." Hermione explained, still not making sense to Ginny. "Have you been in it?"

"I." Ginny thought about it and visualized the door to the loo that she was asking about. "No." She told her slowly. "Lavender and Parvati told me I should avoid it. Apparently, there is a nosy and annoying ghost girl that haunts it and she'll pop in on you while you're having a wee." She remembered. It had been the first morning at the castle when she'd walked down to breakfast with her two other dormmates and they'd warned her off that toilet.

"Well that girl is named Myrtle Warren. She was found dead while Tom Riddle was still in attendance here." Hermione told her.

Ginny's jaw dropped. "You think he killed her? Why wouldn't she have told anyone that when she came back as a ghost? Surely her memory of dying couldn't have been removed!"

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know what happened. But yes, I think, given what we now know, that Tom Riddle might have had something to do with it. And" She continued. "I know that Hagrid was expelled just after it happened too." She said sadly.

Tingles shot down Ginny's arms hearing that, and a subtle shiver ran up her spine. "No." She shook her head. "No, absolutely not. Hagrid is possibly the biggest sweetheart there is."

"Absolutely." Hermione agreed vehemently. "There is no way I would ever consider Hagrid responsible for killing someone." She assured her. "I think Tom Riddle is responsible and somehow got it blamed on Hagrid. Thing is, I don't have proof and I want to get as many details from Moaning Myrtle about the days leading up to her death, and her death, as possible."

"Moaning Myrtle?" Ginny asked in concern. "That's the moniker she got saddled with? That's depressing."

"Yeah, well." Hermione started with a resentful roll of her eyes. "It kind of fits. You'll understand when you meet her."

Ginny was weary of that and took it as forewarning. "So, she's clearly not pleasant. You think having two of us there talking to her would help her tell her story?"

Hermione worried her lip and seemed apologetic about how her plan was going to involve her friend. "I think if we played up that we were being teased and one of us was super upset about it, then we could earn her sympathy and she might be open to sharing." She told her with a bit of a cringe.

Ginny stared at her blankly for a moment before the corner of her mouth began to rise into a smile. "Really? You want to deceive her to gain her confidence? My my, Hermione Granger. You do surprise me. Stealing boys' hearts, lying to get information." She teased.

Hermione blushed prettily. "I am didn't steal anyone's heart." She defended. "Ron seems perfectly fine with us being broken up."

Ginny scoffed. "Well he had two weeks to deal with it. And I had to deal with him." She pointed out. "Don't get me wrong, he seems to have moved on slightly now, and I'm sure he'll have a date lined up for the next Hogsmeade weekend, but he was pretty devastated for most of the holiday."

That had the Prefect pouting with a concerned wrinkle between her eyebrows. "Oh. I do feel bad about it. But it is for the best. We weren't going to make it."

"Let's not worry about that right now." Ginny waved off the topic. "I'm game for manipulating a ghost into giving us information. It won't actually hurt her any to tell her story, and maybe then I can use that toilet!" She beamed easily. There had only been one time so far that she'd nearly gone into it but remembered being warned off it at the last minute and had to race somewhere else. Playing this part with Hermione sounded kind of fun too.

"That's what I figure. And." She blushed. "I may have um," She cleared her throat. "Urgh." She exasperated a groan and deflated. "I have to tell someone this I've been bursting keeping it myself, and please, I'm begging you, don't tell anyone. Even Harry."

Ginny's eyes went wide with surprise and humor at her normally composed best friend losing some composure. "Absolutely. I promise. What is it?"

"I broke into a Muggle government building over the holidays." She leaned closer and whispered.

"What." Ginny's face went blank. "To what end?" She asked in confusion.

"Well, it's the research I was doing on Tom Riddle!" She said in a hurried hush. "I had figured out his name through the Ministry of Magic, but to find out anything about his years previous to Hogwarts there would have been so many hoops to jump through if I went the way these things are supposed to go. It isn't like I could Owl them." She shook her head. "The offices were closed on January second and third, so I. I may have just broken into two buildings using magic and gotten the answers I was looking for by myself." She admitted.

"Hermione Granger!" Ginny drew out, sounding more impressed than scandalized. "Look at you. You are a bad ass in disguise! You know, you can tell me. Are you working behind the scenes to take over the world?" She teased.

Hermione rolled her eyes once before settling into a worrisome expression and biting her lip. "I've been feeling kind of bad about it." She admitted. "But not bad enough that I won't attempt to do the same thing here if Headmaster Dumbledore doesn't approve my request to see Tom Riddles school records." Her jaw was set about that.

"Of course you will, you naughty girl." Ginny waggled her eyebrows at her.

"Alright." Hermione blushed. "So, for convincing Myrtle to confide in us-" and she told her the plan.

Ginny threw open the door of the girls' lavatory, ushering in a sobbing Hermione. "Okay. Just wait here a moment." Ginny cooed. "I'll just." She hesitated. "Just one second, I promise." She headed to check all the bathroom stalls for occupants while Hermione continued bawling and hiccoughing loudly.

Ginny banged on every toilet door, ensuring that they were alone. The third loo on the right though was occupied by a moping ghost girl perched with her bum hovering over the tank behind the bowl, her feet hovering over the seat lid. "Oh!" Ginny exclaimed taking a step back in surprise. "Sorry about that!" She said hurriedly and checked the other stalls before going back to Hermione and taking her up in her arms.

"Just don't listen to them Hermione! They were just being cruel." She assured her.

"But it's true." Hermione sobbed. "I'm just a bloody know-it-all. A Mudblood."

"Hey." Ginny sharply cut her off. "I won't let anyone else call you that, I'm certainly not going to stand here and let you say it about yourself." She stroked her friend's bushy hair, trying to comfort her.

"And my hair?" Hermione grumbled. "What about that? It's awful! But I don't have time to deal with it! There's just so much!"

"It's not important!" Ginny assured her. Moaning Myrtle had come out of her stall then and was gliding over to them slowly, peering curiously. "Those girls are just evil and vapid, okay? If they don't see all the great qualities you have, then that's on them. You'll just have to be content with me keeping you all to myself." She told her firmly and hugged her closer.

"But. I just." Hermione choked another sob. "They say stuff like that when I don't do anything with it, and then they say nasty things about my hair when I do manage to make it look good! Why can't they just leave me alone." She sobbed even harder.

"Hey." Ginny soothed. She made eye contact with Myrtle and gave her a small smile of commiseration. "Those girls have nothing else going on in their head, okay? To them aesthetics are the only thing. Their mission in life is to land a husband. They would never understand worrying about a Potions assignment until you got it right. You are so much better than them in a million ways. Just don't let them get to you."

"I just. Argh!" She growled. "I'm stronger than this." She argued and pulled back from Ginny to angrily wipe at her eyes. "Oh." She saw Myrtle there. "S-sorry." She managed through glassy eyes. "Just. I just need a minute, and we'll leave you alone." Her chin warbled.

"Hermione." Ginny sighed. "Come on. We're not in a hurry. Let's just stay here and talk it out. It'll feel better if you vent about it and get it off your chest. I'm sure she doesn't mind." Ginny nodded at the ghost. "You don't mind, do you?" She asked her pointedly.

Myrtle looked slightly surprised being addressed directly then shook her head. "No. Feel free to take your time. I myself had many tormentors when I was a student here."

"See." Ginny latched onto that tidbit of information. "There are always mean girls, always have been. You just need to rise above it." She rubbed Hermione's shoulder and turned back to Myrtle. "How long ago was that?"

"I've been dead for over fifty years." She said sadly.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Ginny told her. "I'm Ginny. And this is Hermione." She introduced them.

"Myrtle Warren." She offered.

"What did your tormentors do to you?" Hermione sniffled, looking at Myrtle with tears rolling down her face.

"Olive Hornby." Myrtle bristled. "She was always making fun of my glasses." She said angrily.

"Oh." Hermione sympathized. "I think your glasses quite suit you." She argued and wiped her cheeks. "They don't hide your face; the wires are nice and thin on them."

Myrtle gave her a millisecond long smile and reverted to her frown.

"Do you know what happened to her? Olive Hornby?" Ginny asked.

Myrtles transparent eyes twinkled then. "Ohh." She moved closer with excitement on her face. "I haunted her." She told them eagerly.

Ginny and Hermione exchanged dumbfounded expressions before turning back to Myrtle and laughing. Myrtle joined in on their laughter.

"Really?" Hermione asked, now with real tears of mirth rolling down her cheeks.

"That's brilliant!" Ginny exclaimed after sucking in a deep breath and trying to control her laughter. "You haunted your tormentor! Amazing."

"It was great! I haunted her all the way up to her wedding day." Myrtle grinned evilly, then pouted. "Then I was banished here." She frowned. "The Ministry stepped in after she made enough complaints." She let out a big sigh. "Now I'm stuck here forever."

"This toilet in particular?" Ginny asked with a furrowed brow. "I don't think I've seen you before. In the Great Hall, or in the corridors or anything."

"I get around a bit." She said sadly. "But this is where I died." She looked down at the floor.

Ginny and Hermione drew in a gasp at the same time.

"What happened?!" Hermione asked.

"Right here in this lavatory?" Ginny asked at the same time.

"You want to hear?" Myrtle asked with surprise and a glimmer of excitement. Both girls nodded. "Ooooh, it was dreadful, it happened right in here. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked, and I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in. They said something funny, a different language, I think it must've been. Anyway, what really got me was that it was a boy speaking. So, I unlocked the door to tell him to go and use his own toilet, and then... I died." She finished with a simple, yet intentionally dramatic, shrug of her shoulder.

"Just like that?" Ginny asked.

"Some boy you went to school with killed you because you found him in a girl's toilet?" Hermione pressed, not looking sad at all anymore.

"Well." Myrtle reflected. "I don't remember any spells being used. Just a pair of big yellow eyes. And then nothing." She pouted. "Then I was this." She gestured down at her transparent self.

"Yellow. Eyes." Hermione repeated, clearly holding onto that detail.

Ginny could tell Hermione was about to switch to her inquisitive nature, forgoing their ruse all together and tried to come back around to get at the Tom Riddle potential of it all. "Do you remember at all who the boy was?" She asked, trying to seem more awestruck and regretful of Myrtles situation.

The ghost shook her head mournfully. "I don't remember who he was. Just the hissing sound he was making, and how it was most certainly a boy making the sound."

Ginny felt a weight settle into her stomach as she realized what that hissing sound must have been. And how it was most certainly Tom Riddle that had been making it. She took in a heavy swallow and refused to look at Hermione then. Myrtle was still looking between the two of them and she couldn't chance having a silent conversation with her friend and betraying her thoughts. "What year was it you died Myrtle? I can't tell by your uniform." She intentionally reached forward as though to test the material of the fabric, then quickly pulled back her hand as though remembering she couldn't really touch it, then let out a little half giggle. "Sorry."

Myrtle let out a short chuckle as well. "It was June 1943." She told them.

"There must have been an investigation or something." Hermione remembered her goal and the game they were playing to get there. "Were you a ghost and back here in time to see any of that? You must have been wildly curious about what caused you to die." Her eyes were wide and imploring. She managed to act like the story was sounding more like a melodrama than holding vital information they were looking for.

Myrtle shook her head. "It was a few years before I came back here. I when the Ministry restricted me to staying in the castle I did have an interview with Headmaster Dippet before I was allowed to take up residency. He told me that they'd expelled a boy for what had happened, apparently he had been harboring a beast in the castle, and that was what killed me."

"Do you think the beast might still be here?" Ginny asked forcing wonder in her tone and expression. "Is that why you stay here? Sort of like, protecting the other students?"

Myrtle shifted uncomfortably and her eyes went wider, as though she was trying to portray both innocence and bravery. "Yes." The lie was obvious to Ginny, so it was most definitely obvious to Hermione, but the two of them weren't going to say anything. "That's truly why I scare most away from this toilet. I don't want any other girls to die of the same fate." Her chin tilted up proudly.

"That is so magnanimous of you." Hermione said in awe.

If Myrtle could blush, she probably would have. She looked bashful anyhow. "Yes well. I don't think any other girls should suffer from my fate." She said strongly. "And those girls that bullied you, well. You just don't listen to them, okay? You are pretty, and you are smart, and you are better than them." She said told Hermione strongly.

"Thank you." Hermione said sincerely.

"She's right." Ginny told her friend. "And they'll be sorry too. I'm going to slip something into their Pumpkin Juice that'll have them running to the toilets." She grinned evilly.

Hermione snickered. "No, don't. I won't stoop to their level." She shook her head.

"You don't have to! I will." Ginny told her enthusiastically.

Myrtle joined them in their laughter.

"Okay." Hermione wiped under her eyes and let out a deep breath. "Okay. We have to get to dinner and then do our assignments." She told Ginny and turned to Myrtle. "Thank you for chatting with us."

"Oh. You are welcome back any time." She smiled to Hermione and then turned to Ginny. "I wish I had a friend like you when I was alive."

"That's nice to hear." Ginny told her. "I'll start using this toilet more. Maybe come in for a chat once and a while." She looked around. "It's a nice loo as well." She said honestly. Some of the other toilets didn't even have windows, this one had a big stained glass one and nice deep sinks that wouldn't have the water splashing up into your lap.

"It is." Myrtle said softly. "I like watching the Quidditch games out the window."

"Well you can watch me practice tomorrow night then!" Ginny exclaimed. "I'm on the Gryffindor team."

"Oh, okay." Myrtle told her eagerly.

Ginny grabbed Hermione's hand. "Bye Myrtle and thank you." Hermione told her with a wave.

The two of them headed back towards the library, waiting until they were a few corridors away before popping into one of the classrooms and Ginny closed the door behind her.

"Holy shit!" She exclaimed. "Holy shit!"

"I know!" Hermione said, equally as effected. "Good acting by the way."

"Yeah, you too. But can we talk about the 'Holy shit' of it all?"

"Yes! Yellow eyes." Hermione shook her head, looking at Ginny but not seeing her. "Yellow eyes and hissing."

"Yeah, well, I was more focused on the hissing part and how Tom Riddle was a Parselmouth. Now we know for sure that he was responsible for Myrtle Warren's death." Ginny stated.

"Well, I had assumed that all along. But now I have something else entirely that I want to research." Hermione said and nearly did a little dance with this hop of excitement at her new project.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked. "You are already in the middle of a major research project."

"I know! But it's all connected." She exasperated. "You see, I looked into the whole ordeal of Myrtle Warren dying, and there was a rumor that it had to do with something called 'The Chamber of Secrets'. There is a bit about it in Hogwarts: A History. Supposedly it was this chamber that Salazar Slytherin himself created and there was a beast inside it!"

Ginny blinked at her. "You think Tom Riddle found this chamber and a 1500-year-old beast killed Myrtle Warren." She deadpanned.

"Well." Hermione started, then caught herself. "Well. It could be the many generations later offspring of the beast." She offered with less surety.

"Right." Ginny wanted to smile humorously but wasn't sure how her friend would take that.

"In any case. I'm pretty sure the beast would have been a snake of some sort. I'm going to research deadly snakes, and more on the Chamber of Secrets." Hermione said with determination.

"Okay then." Ginny gave in to her friend. "Let's go to the library."

()()()

It felt good to be doing something completely normal like this; Lazily tossing a Quaffle back and forth with Ron in the dorm room. Neville had gone off to the greenhouses right after dinner. Probably more likely that was his excuse to snog Luna a bit, but Harry wasn't going to call him out on that. The girls had gone to the library, and from the way that Ginny was giving Hermione these 'looks' it didn't seem like it was just homework they had in mind. Again, he wasn't going to call them out about it, she said she was going to get Hermione to tell her whatever was making her a little off.

His own assignments he'd completed during his free time, while Ginny and Hermione had other classes. He'd been doing that to try and maximize time with Ginny, but she had a ton of her own work and not as much free time as him. They hadn't been able to have proper alone time since the first day back. He was trying not to be too concerned about it, but before the holidays they'd both been swamped and not had a decent amount of time together just the two of them.

They'd figure something out.

Right now, he wanted to just hang out with Ron.

While Neville had been a great guy friend to have around for his first five years at school, Ron and he just had more of the same interests. Namely Quidditch, but Ron was a little more laid back than Neville too. He didn't get rattled by other people's opinions of him. Or he'd just build up a head of steam and then blow up at something or other for a moment and be fine again.

They just got on really well, and Ron wasn't as judgmental as Seamus or Dean.

All five of the dormmates got on well enough, but Harry was starting to feel a closer friendship to Ron. Particularly now that Neville had Luna on top of his Herbology Apprenticeship he was getting his hours for.

They'd been tossing the Quaffle back and forth for near an hour discussing potential World Cup contenders until the subject was beaten to death before Harry switched it to Hermione.

"She seems fine." Ron shrugged a shoulder. "I mean, it was her that ended it, so I don't know why she wouldn't be okay with it."

"I don't know. I think she really liked you that way. I just can't really figure out what it is that she thought was wrong." Harry wondered. He hadn't watched Ron and Hermione together much, mostly because he was so caught up with Ginny, but also because he didn't feel the need to watch that. There had been a few times when he'd caught them sharing an intimate moment of staring sickeningly into each other's eyes and he'd wondered if he looked at Ginny like that. He hadn't caught doubt in Hermione's eyes.

"Well." Ron caught the Quaffle and turned it around in his hands a few times. "There was... she wasn't as. Um. Ready? Yeah, ready to, uh, progress things?" He relayed nervously. "But I don't think I was pressuring her or anything." He assured Harry.

"Oh." Harry shifted uncomfortably.

Thinking back over how his relationship with Ginny had progressed it might have seemed fast. She'd slept in his bed in only her knickers before their first month of the relationship milestone. Man, had he been rock hard that whole night. If he hadn't had those few shots she'd poured down his throat he might not have slept at all and just wound up staring at her all night. It had been the first time he'd seen breasts! And they were her breasts. And they'd been right there, just inches from his hands, and his mouth.

But she'd been completely passed out. He'd had to make do with a quick wank in the loo to relieve some of the pressure before managing to fall asleep beside her, still hard, and that felt perverted. Not near as perverted as what he'd done in the Room of Requirement the other day, but still.

"So, you guys didn't get up to much in broom cupboards then." Harry nodded and caught the Quaffle.

Ron sighed. "Mate, I only got my hand under her shirt once." He confessed.

Harry couldn't help his jaw dropping then. "Wha- But. You guys were together for four months!" He couldn't fathom it. He was pretty sure that Neville was already past that point with Luna.

Ron groaned. "You have no idea how patient I was being with her." He moaned. "And I could have kept it up." He assured Harry with a pained expression. "I really like Hermione. Liked." he corrected. "I mean, she's-"

Harry held up a hand to stop him. "I could tell you liked her. But what about Greengrass, or Lavender?" He asked. "If Hermione is seeming alright with the breakup then you should feel free to move on. She'd still be your friend if you get another girlfriend." Harry suggested. "I mean, maybe don't be snogging in the common room if it's Lavender. Even I wouldn't want to see that. Nor Ginny." He chuckled.

"Yeah." Ron grinned. "I may have already been letting Lavender catch me staring at her a bit with, you know, making my appreciation apparent."

"What?" Harry asked, confused.

"Oh." He grinned. "There's this book that my brothers gave me when I turned sixteen. It's all about wooing witches. You know, how to let them know you're interested. Laying the groundwork and all that." Ron explained, not seeming at all embarrassed about his 'how to' guide.

"What?!" Harry asked, this time louder. Why hadn't anyone thought to give him a book like that? He was completely useless with girls before Ginny came along. Hell, he was completely useless with Ginny when Ginny came along. Luckily, she knew what she wanted and basically told him what was what when she got fed up enough of waiting. "Do you have it here? Can I see it?" He wanted to read this book.

"What the bloody hell do you need it for?" Ron asked incredulously.

Harry blushed. "I. I'm just curious." He dialed back his volume as Dean and Seamus came into the room.

Ron, not at all bothered by the others coming into the room carried on like they were still alone. "You're already shagging Ginny in orchards and the like, I really don't think you need to read it."

"What?" Dean and Seamus asked, frozen to the spot they were standing and staring at Harry like he was their new messiah.

"How do you know that?!" Harry asked horrified. "You didn't see us, did you?"

"No, I wasn't watching or anything. But I do have a view of the orchard from my bedroom window. And it was pretty obvious what was going on." Ron rolled his eyes.

It was amazing to Harry that his girlfriend's older brother wasn't currently beating the shit out of him for 'defiling' his sister in the manner he had. He'd seen them going at it? Wait, which time? "Which time?" He couldn't help himself asking, his horrified emotions putting a block on his brain to mouth filter.

"Nice! You nailed her more than once in an orchard? You are my new hero." Seamus praised.

Harry shot him a glare while Ron scowled at him in disgust. "Don't talk about her like that." They both barked at him.

"Look mate." Ron turned back to Harry. "I didn't 'see' anything, but the way the tree was shaking for the five seconds I noticed it, connecting the dots wasn't that hard. Even for me."

"Oh." Harry deflated, very relieved that that was all Ron had noticed.

"So again, I'll ask, what do you want to see the book for?"

"Well." He blushed. "Just because Ginny and I are solid doesn't mean I know anything about how to keep wooing her."

"Yeah, just how to convince her to be alone with you in an orchard." Dean muttered to Seamus loud enough for Harry and Ron to hear him. Harry lobbed the Quaffle at Dean's head and it bounced off. "Ow! Alright. Calm down Casanova."

That got all of them laughing.

"So, Ron is thinking of making a move on Lavender." Harry let the other two into Ron's business, only with a bit of spite behind his motive for sharing.

"Really?" Seamus picked up the Quaffle and tossed it back to Ron. "I had a bit of a thing with her in fourth year. She'll be a nice transition girl from Hermione. No offence." He shrugged.

"Not harboring anything for her, are you?" Ron wanted assurance.

"Nah." He waived off any concern. "We just went on two dates in Hogsmeade and snogged a bit. She's a decent snog for sure, but there weren't any actual 'feelings' between us. She's nice enough, just not for me. Her tits have really come in though." He trailed off.

"Yeah, cool. I was considering asking her for 'help' in Divination." Ron winked with cheeky grin. They all snorted with laughter, none of them believing in the subject beyond that there were true Seer's out there, but you either had the gift or you didn't. It was also funny because Ron wasn't even taking the class.

"By the way." Harry brought up, his focus on Dean and Seamus. "If I hear any comments about my sex life with Ginny, or those kinds of comments at all really I'm going to know where it came from."

Dean gave him a wry grin. "Why? What are you going to do to us if we tease you?"

"Well, let's see." Harry pretended to think for half a second. "I'm top of our Defense Against the Dark Arts class and now live with an Azkaban escapee and former Marauder. Pretty sure I can come up with something unsettling. Not to mention that my girlfriend is his sister." He pointed at Ron. "And she has five more older brothers where he came from."

"And were more of the physical sort when it comes to dealing with problems." Ron told Dean with a straight face that came off way more threatening than Harry had expected.

"Understood." Seamus spoke up for Dean, who looked understandably rattled from Ron's impressive stare down. "Did you just say you live with an Azkaban escapee?" Seamus picked up. "Sirius Black?" His eyes went wide.

"Yeah." Harry grinned. "He's my Godfather and now my guardian."

Harry'd been keeping that information to his immediate group of friends. Dean and Seamus were out layers that he didn't generally carry on with. The two of them looked suitably interested in this development.

()()()

Sirius had sent an Owl ahead to Remus letting him know he'd be coming through his Floo for a meeting with Dumbledore that evening. They were both going to be attending it. It was a planned group discussion on what the individual progress had been for the elimination of the Horcruxes and the potential location of the Wraith Voldemort.

Neither the foreknowledge of this appointment, nor Sirius's expected arrival stopped Remus from looking thoroughly surprised to see his friend appear in his study.

"What's wrong with you?" Sirius asked with a humorous lilt to his voice.

"I did something stupid." Remus admitted honestly and immediately. It was like he'd been bottling it up to himself for much too long and had absolutely needed to get it off his chest.

Sirius grinned, eyes twinkling in interest. He'd been privy to Remus' acts of 'stupidity' through their school career. They usually involved women or his inner wolf taking over and 'making him' mark his territory on something. One such instance was when a Slytherin Beater named Thompson had singled out James aggressively during one of the games and Remus had gotten so worked up about it he went down to the Slytherin change room, found Thompson's locker and peed on everything.

To be fair, that had been during one of those rare months with two full moons and he'd been quite off that whole month.

His embarrassment afterwards had only added to the laughter his best friends shared over his actions. James had been very moved by his loyalty as well and promised to return the favor at his next opportunity.

It was still two weeks until the next full moon, he doubted Remus had done anything stupid involving his students, so that left a woman. And Sirius was very interested in hearing any stories about Remus being 'stupid' with a woman. He took up in the seat on the other side of his friends' desk and waited eagerly for the full story.

"I had a sort of, date, last night." Remus admitted.

"Okay." Sirius encouraged him curiously for more. Remus was still a young single man; it was expected that he date. Though he hadn't told him about any women of interest he'd had on his mind.

"Only, I wasn't sure it was a date until the very end. There's. Well, there's an age difference, and she's quite. Well, she'd quite capable of getting someone much more on her level, so why she was sniffing around me."

Sirius held up a hand. "Can we dispense with the self-deprecation please? You've always been like this. Women like you Remus. Deal with it."

Remus sighed. "Yes, well. Anyhow. We had a lovely evening together at the Three Broomsticks, there were some lewd stories shared, but it still wasn't until we were about to part ways that she made her intentions known."

"Ah, nice. Love it when they make the first move." Sirius waggled his eyebrows at him. "So, what was the problem? Did you shoot off too soon?" He asked with intentional crassness.

"No." Remus growled. "While, true, it had been a while since I'd last been with someone I did not 'shoot off too soon'. But I may have been a bit rougher with her than I had intended." He said sadly.

"Oh." Sirius sat back. It had been a concern that Remus had voiced to him in confidence back in school. Sometimes the wolf came out while he was snogging and would get a little carried away. According to every romance novel out there women liked when a man would get a little aggressive with their lust and barely able to control themselves because they just 'wanted her so bad' or whatever the phrasing was. In reality though that wasn't the case. "Did you get _completely_ carried away? Or can you recover from it?" He was essentially asking if Remus forced himself on her.

"No it wasn't anything that bad." He seemed both angry at the insinuation and concerned that it would be a possibility. "I just snogged her a little to roughly and made it very evident that I was wanting more." He explained. "I managed to stop myself _before_ I went too far though."

"Okay." Sirius stretched out the word. "And how did she seem?"

"Well. Rattled a bit. I only managed to stop myself because of how she was saying my name." He frowned.

"Guessing she wasn't moaning it then."

"She sounded panicked Sirius." He exasperated.

"But you stopped." Sirius pointed out. "Then what? I imagine you apologized and ran away." He guessed. It would be Remus' style to panic himself a bit after that and bolt. Probably sending her a formal apology.

Remus nodded. "Came back to the school and sent her an Owl apologizing."

Sirius wanted to laugh out loud at how well he knew his friend. "And did she send anything back?"

That had his friend pursing his lips slightly and his Adams apple bobbing once. Remus hesitated, weighing his options, before conceding and taking a slip of parchment out of his top drawer and sliding it over to him.

_"I never said I didn't like it. It was just a little more aggressive than I was expecting.- Tonks"_

He stared at the name until it was simply a black splotch on parchment. It wasn't as though he had a close relationship with his cousin's daughter, but it was a bit of a shock. She'd flirted heavily with Remus at the New Year's gathering, but he hadn't thought anything of it.

Remus was right, there was a fairly sizable age gap there. She was of age though, several years past in fact. And a fully trained Auror who could obviously take care of herself.

"Oh." Was all he managed. "Well. I guess she really does like you." He offered.

"That's it?" Remus asked him incredulously. "I told you what happened. She's your cousin!"

"My second cousin, I only met her last week." Sirius corrected. "And she's a fully-grown woman."

Remus scoffed. "Only just."

"So, you aren't attracted to her?" He challenged, not needing an answer. The slight coloring that came to his cheeks was enough of a giveaway even if he didn't already know. "She seems interested in more." He held up the slip of paper as evidence.

"She's just a little too close to my life here for us to get involved in anything." Remus drew out. "That shadow program she spoke about with Harry? That is why she was here yesterday. That's happening and I'll be working with her on recruiting students for it."

"That doesn't sound like a reason to not attempt dating her a bit if you are both interested." Sirius reasoned.

"I'm a werewolf Sirius." He deadpanned.

"Still not a reason to not date her if you are both interested." He drew out, enunciating every word.

"No." He shook his head. "I'm going to send her another letter telling her that though I enjoyed the evening I got too carried away at her kiss. I just. I just would like a friendship with her. That's it."

Sirius narrowed his eyes at him. If the self-deprecating bastard wasn't in a state to listen to reason, then Sirius wasn't going to waste his breath. "We have a meeting with Albus that we're late for." He pointed out, getting up from his chair.

They weren't going to come up with any hard and fast solutions to dealing with the Horcruxes at this meeting, but it had been a few days since finding the cup and Sirius had still not told Albus about it. The old man had been keeping secrets from them and he couldn't help but be a little spiteful about that.  
His spite had increased after Amelia had mentioned her concerns over the Privet Drive Deed and it's wording. While yes, that had nagged at him before. He'd even discussed with Albus about two weeks ago, but they'd been caught up with the Horcruxes then as well.

Harry should never have been stuck with the Dursley's. They were awful to him; it was amazing he hadn't turned out to be some hooligan causing trouble everywhere he went and talking back to his professors. That would have been how he himself would have wound up.

It had occurred to Sirius though that Harry might not have realized he was being mis-treated. It had taken a while for Sirius to catch on to his own mistreatment from his parents and he'd done what he could to lash out against them. Getting sorted into Gryffindor had been a great way to start rebelling against them. Befriending James and Remus has helped draw that line in the sand between them as well.

Harry hadn't said anything about receiving actual beatings from his uncle, that had been a small relief. Not that being their own personal House Elf, going without food and getting bullied by his cousin was in any way okay. But not being told of any beatings had been good.

Sirius and Remus took up in seats across from the Headmaster. He was looking much better than the last time he'd seen him. The shock of seeing whatever he'd seen with the ring seemed to have worn off. The letter requesting the three of them have this meeting had come from Albus, and it was formally written not showing any signs of him having lost his mind.

"I thought it best that we report in with each other on our research and discoveries." Albus started. "I also thought it best that I explain what happened to me on our last little adventure."

"You haven't been walking away from these events in the best of health." Remus told him gently.

"Yes." Albus sighed. "My predecessor may have lived into his 300's, so I can hardly claim it is due to my age, but then again I doubt he had to use up so much of his magical core the way I have been doing these past two weeks."

He was referring of course to Armando Dippet, the last headmaster of Hogwarts. Someone who should have never taken up the post when he did. Most wizards lived well past 100 if they passed of natural causes, but they generally either moved on to warmer climates or were mostly home bodies that came out for important Wizengamut votes. Nicolas Flamel and his wife were the only recorded magical couple that lived past 400, but neither of them was active in society. They just simply were alive.

"So, what was it about this particular Horcrux that set you off?" Sirius asked him straight.

Albus must have been actively trying to respect Sirius' distaste for his drawn out and dramatically built up 'reveals' because he didn't do that 'pause and look over the eyeglasses' bit of his before responding. "Have either of you heard the story of the Deathly Hallows?"

It took all of Sirius' will power not to just get up and break something over the apparent subject change. His blood pressure seemed to rise the moment he stepped into the man's office. It wasn't even Albus' fault, it was how he was, and Sirius recognized that. He just didn't particularly want to deal with it.

And so, Sirius opted to just take a deep calming breath and let his friend speak for both of them.

"The story about the three brothers?" Remus asked, encouraging the man to continue.

"Yes. Many believe it was a fable, but it was in fact the true story of the Peverell brothers."

Sirius blinked at him while he processed that then narrowed his eyes. "You are saying that there is really some all mighty wand that was bestowed on the eldest Peverell brother."

He nodded. "One that many have been killed over. I had dedicated many of my years after schooling searching for this wand with my dear friend. And we found it." He said mournfully.

Remus and Sirius exchanged a look.

"It is fine." Albus told them lightly. "This story has been told to children for many hundreds of years. I understand you believing that I may just be a raving old man telling you another fantastical story. But tell me; do either of you know of an Invisibility cloak that has lasted generations?" Now he did the looking over the glasses bit of his.

It took Sirius a moment, but when he decided to humor the old man and give it some thought the wind was inexplicably knocked out of him then. His brain was quickly working in overdrive to find a reason behind it. James had his father's invisibility cloak, the same one that Harry had now, and it worked perfectly. There hadn't been any spells added to it, no tears in the fabric, no signs whatsoever that it was aging.

But that was ridiculous.

Judging from the vacant look on Remus' face he was thinking the same thing.

But there was the slimmest of chances that it was true.

Also, that invisibility cloak had not been there with them at the Gaunt Shack that day. The ring had.

"The stone?" Sirius asked drawing the connection.

"The stone." Albus nodded with a sigh. "It has the mark of the Deathly Hallows on it, and I believe it is the Resurrection stone." There was a flash of grief that passed over his face. "That was what had given me the shock. I had dedicated several years to the search for the Hallows. To have seen one appear before me like that. It was a shock to the system."

"You think the stone in the ring is the Resurrection Stone?" Remus asked, baffled.

"I know it is." Albus told him sadly. "And thank you." He turned to Sirius. "For taking it away from me. I do not need the temptation of it."

Sirius said nothing, still not believing this story. He wasn't willing to argue about it now though. "So now you know where the cloak and the ring are. How about the wa-." Then he cut himself off when he remembered. Albus Dumbledore had defeated Gellert Grindelwald and won his wand. "Huh." was the most response he could manage to continue with as he took in the wand of the man before him.

"This is not at all what I thought we'd be discussing this evening." Remus tapped his finger on the arm of his chair, clearly not at all worrying about Nymphadora Tonks anymore.

"That is true." Albus nodded. "We are here to talk about the Horcruxes."

"I found the cup." Sirius told them. "Now the ring, the cup, and the locket are all in my vault. And I'd like for them to get destroyed as soon as possible."

"I understand, and I am of the same opinion." Albus nodded. "My only hesitancy is the fact that they are all priceless relics."

"As was the Diadem." Remus brought up. "They have been touched with evil and aren't what they used to be any more. Replicas can be made. Maybe not with the exact same properties, but they would hold the symbolism." He offered.

"I understand that." He told them. "But as they are true pieces of history, I would like a little more time to research before we resort to their destruction."

"I have been looking into it as well." Remus nodded. "There was a way to put the soul into them, there must be a way to transfer it to something less sentimental."

"Meanwhile I've been looking at a way to destroy them that doesn't involve Fiendfyre." Sirius told them. "Like Dragons Breath, or Basilisk Venom. Going on that it would need to be a magical method." He explained. "Though, if we are able to essentially pull the soul out, then the Killing curse might work too." He offered.

"Hmm." Albus peered at him speculatively. "If. No." He shook his head. "No that would be too barbaric."

"What could be more barbaric than what has been done already?" Remus pried. "In order to make them he had to first kill someone, and we are essentially talking about killing pieces of his soul one at a time."

"Yes, it is just that the initial option that pulled to my mind was to collect all the pieces into one... being."

Sirius felt the urge to throw up at that. "What? Like putting him back together like a jigsaw puzzle before we kill what is left of him?" He had the image of an Inferi with the three collected pieces of soul residing in it and being dangled in a cage for a Dragon to finish off for them. He gave a shiver.

"That does sound slightly barbaric." Remus said slowly. But also sounding more like he was thinking of whether they could pull it off.

"But?" Sirius asked, knowing his friend was seeing a reason for them to attempt it.

"But. If he is out there in his Wraith form, and I'm assuming he'd gone to Albania." He offered up. "Having a being or some such with three pieces of his soul might be a way to sort of, call him out."

"I've drawn the same conclusion on his current location." Albus agreed. "And that is essentially along the lines of what I was thinking as well."

"Now we'll need an Inferi then?" Sirius asked, coming around to the idea a bit. An Inferi was already dead after all. And trapping an evil man's three pieces of broken soul in the body of a zombie like creature might horrify his soul fragments, should they be able to take it over. That would be something Tom Riddle deserved.

"I wasn't even thinking Inferi." Albus stated in surprise. "Although, that would be an option, if we had access to one."

"Another option would be feed the soul of one of his death eaters to a Dementor and transfer his souls into one of them." Remus offered sadistically, completely out of character for him, but he was seemingly thinking out loud more than giving a legitimate option.

Sirius moved right past the idea of his cousin Bellatrix getting her soul sucked out to be replaced with her masters. She'd probably be completely open to the idea. "Do you really think the pieces would, sort of collect and come back together if they were in the same, for lack of better word, vessel?"

"Yes." Albus stated without hesitation. "The fragmented pieces of soul would be drawn to each other, particularly if housed in the same space. It would be like ice and water at first, but eventually the ice melts and becomes indistinguishable from the water."

"At least that is your theory." Remus told him. "There has been no record of this."

"That is true. It is just a theory, but one that I am sure will be proven correct." Albus nodded. "And before we go any further on this subject, I wanted to share something with the two of you, speaking of 'records'." He told them. "You are both familiar with Hermione Granger?" He asked them unnecessarily.

Remus' brow furrowed. "Yes of course."

Sirius knew what this was going to be leading to. He'd all but put it out of his head the lunch he had with Harry and his friend Hermione. She seemed incredibly bright, but still he was blown away with the amount of information she'd managed to get on Tom Riddle.

"She is a tenacious one." Albus started, then let out a sigh. "She has asked for permission to view the school records for Tom Riddle."

"What?" Remus leaned forward. "How did she know?"

"Oh." Sirius cringed. "Guess I forgot to tell you." He turned to his friend.

"You knew that she knew?" He asked puzzled.

"I ran into her with Harry at the ministry. She'd been looking into the 'Origins of Voldemort' over her holiday." He explained. "She'd been preparing a thorough history of the last war after the kids went through all those old Prophet stories, you knew that bit. And that led her to finding out everything she could about who he really was."

Remus leaned back in his chair. "That does sound like her. She'd incredibly studious that one."

"That she is." Albus agreed. "And I've no doubt that she will find a way to get her hands on his records one way or another." A whisper of an amused smile crossed his lips. "She had obtained all the information on his time in the Muggle world. Before he came to Hogwarts and his summers spent in the orphanage."

"And his work history after Hogwarts as well." Sirius added.

"And she hopes to do what with it?" Remus asked.

"A series of articles for a magazine or something. At least, that was the idea she'd floated around last week." Sirius told him.

"Her argument was rather compelling actually, and I wanted to consult the two of you before I allowed her to see the records." He told them.

Sirius bit back a sarcastic response about what an honor it was to be considered and let Remus field this one. So far as he was concerned, she could write whatever she wanted. In fact, if they had the Auror's monitoring the former Death Eaters when news was released that their master wasn't really dead and gone, then they might just lead them all to where the Wraith was hiding, and it would save them a lot of searching.

"Perhaps." Remus started then looked thoughtful a moment. "The girl is undeniably intelligent. And I believe if you allowed her to chronicle his past up until he completely adopted the Voldemort moniker, then it might help us."

"That is part of why I am leaning towards allowing it."

"What is the other part?" Remus asked.

"It was her that gave the argument that made it seem like quite the logical reason to allow it." Albus admitted. "She claimed that if the public knew his origin story, even those with previous leanings towards him, the knowledge of who he really was and where he came from, it might stop people fearing him still."

He had to admit, that was a solid reason. Even with the Slytherin heritage his relatives had been living in squalor before they passed on, leaving him the last remaining direct descendant. Tom Riddle was a half-blood that was using his natural talents at political manipulation to gather followers and see his views as correct. "Let her see them." He agreed.

"Yes. That is a very valid point." Remus allowed. "However." He prefaced. "Having anything published with her name on it." He emphasized.

"She has already stipulated that she would opt to write it anonymously and her goal is not to gain profit from it. A stipulation that I believe to be true." He chuckled. "I rather think she would take any profits from her articles and put them towards something that would go very much against the desires of Death Eaters."

Remus grinned at that. "Funding for the Muggle Studies classes for field trips and the like?" He offered.

"Amusing as that would be." Sirius brought up. "She should run any articles past you or Remus before she tries to sell the idea to the Daily Prophet or Witch Weekly."

"I agree, and I requested as much when she brought her request to me."

"And she should absolutely not be told about the Horcruxes until they are dealt with." Remus stated firmly.

"No." Albus agreed.

"Okay. Then until we find a way to transfer the Horcruxes, I have also been looking into how we could trap or contain the Wraith." Remus told them.

"And?" Sirius asked. He felt rather useless when it came to figuring things out like this. He was a man of action. He could search high and low for secret passageways in the castle or small objects that contain part of an evil dictator, but he'd been blessed in school with a natural ability to pick up on facts and how to do things. Studying just wasn't for him. Most of his assignments in school he'd paid someone else to do the research for him. Usually a cute Ravenclaw girl he could repay in a broom closet. Remus and James had been the truly smart ones, and Sirius found he absolutely had to do a project himself he'd usually need one of them to read facts out to him so he could string something sloppily together.

"Runic stones are the best way to keep one in one place. And I believe a cage of sorts could be built with Runic stones so that we could transport the wraith. I'm sure there are other ways, but I haven't gotten far through studying that subject just yet." Remus admitted.

"And if we do manage to trap him." Sirius pondered. "He still wouldn't be able to be killed properly until the rest of his soul fragments were also taken care of."

"If we were to try destroying the Wraith before finding and destroying the rest of the Horcruxes he made then there is a very good chance he would manage to escape again. And to a different place entirely."

"We could just trap him in the cage, kill off the three Horcrux pieces that we know about and then leave him in the cage behind several locked doors in the Department of Mysteries." Sirius suggested. "At least then we'd know where he was. The main part of him anyway." He shrugged.

There was a moment of silence while they all contemplated that possibility.

"I believe that is as much planning as we can do at this time." Albus told them.

"Now onto other business." Sirius said delicately, staring down the headmaster.

"Yes?" He asked.

"We've been over your reasoning for leaving Harry with his aunt and uncle." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Remus stiffen. "But the wording of the Deed to Privet Drive. It was reading as though you yourself were the one in charge of the Potter estate. Care to explain that?"

()

**AN- The bit from Myrtle about her death was taken directly from Chamber of Secrets.**


	21. Truth Sleuth

**Whilst writing this chapter I came to the realization that Harry in fact was left on his Aunt's doorstep on the eve of November 1st. Not the same night that his parents were murdered. It was a Gobsmacked moment for me and led to a few discussions of what happened in those missing 24 hours of Harry's life on a Discord server. The overall conclusion being that he was taken to be looked at by a Healer and then Hagrid probably brought him 'round the pub, tra-la-la. Then it basically descended from there, as these things tend to do.**

**Which in turn is making me think of a parody fic where Harry is taken by the milk-man before his aunt discovers him and is brought up by the Guild of Milk Men as the shining light of a new generation, hell bent on keeping milk out of corner shops and Tesco in order to preserve the validity of their noble trade.**

**The milk-man would of course have to be Colin and Denis Creevey's father. (Admit it, you're laughing at the ridiculousness already.)**

**Chapter 21- Truth ****Sleuth**

Sirius and Albus were locked in a stare, neither backing down. Remus too had read over the Deed, but there had been so many other things going on that the wording of it had not stood out, he'd simply felt the infuriation about his best friends little baby boy being kept by those horrible people and how they only did it for the promise of a pay-out when he came of age.

It was despicable. They were his family. Lily's sister should have taken him in and loved him. Raised him right alongside his cousin instead of using him as a veritable slave.

Try as he might right then Remus couldn't remember the exact wording of the document. Luckily, he didn't have to as Sirius began reciting it verbatim.

Still stuck in his stare-down Sirius read it out from his memory. "This Agreement for Deed is entered into on this 1st day of November 1981 between Harry James Potter, Lord of hereafter known as the "Title Holder" and Petunia Rose Dursley nee Evans hereafter known as the "Receiver." Witnesseth that if Receiver shall not fulfill their obligation stated in the covenants hereafter described said Agreement for Deed is void." He paused. "Tell me Albus, how is it that you came to even know that James was the title holder for that property?"

Albus frowned deeply looking resentful. "She told me." He admitted. "She and her husband."

"Petunia told you? When?" Remus asked.

"I thought you just dumped Harry on their doorstep and left?" Sirius asked harshly.

"I did add shielding spells around him." He assured them calmly. "He was perfectly safe."

"On a doorstep." Sirius reiterated.

Albus inhaled sharply through his nose. "He was safe." He pointed out growing aggressive in his tone. "He was with his family."

"He should have been with me." Sirius pointed out. "But you'd already taken him before I knew what was going on."

Albus leaned back further in his chair still firm in his decision at the time. "I was under the impression that you were the one behind Voldemort finding the Potters. Just as everyone else had assumed. He needed the blood protection that was offered by his blood relatives."

"You've both discussed that part." Remus cut in. "The question now is about the Deed." The two of them could go back and forth disagreeing about what happened to Harry like that all night.

Albus adopted a calmer expression, choosing to tell this tale looking to Remus. "Petunia contacted me, the morning she found Harry and read my letter explaining what happened."

"How?" Sirius and Remus both asked. She was a Muggle, he was a wizard. She couldn't very well call him up on the phone and there was certainly no way that their fireplace was connected to the Floo network, nor that she'd had an Owl.

This too he seemed regretful about having to disclose. "She knew of someone that was a witch and went to her."

"That Arabella Figg woman you mentioned?" Sirius asked. Remus knew about her as well. Albus had said she was a Squibb, but that didn't mean she couldn't use Owl Post.

"No. A woman that she grew up near. Petunia went back to the neighborhood she grew up in and found this witch and that witch used her Floo network to contact me."

"So, then this witch knew that the Dursley's had Harry?!" Remus asked. Yet no one had known where he was before he came to Hogwarts. Remus had simply received assurances that he was with family and was in fact alive and healthy. "How is it that the rest of our society didn't find out then?"

"Wait a moment." Sirius connected the dots. "You said it was a witch near where she and Lily grew up?"

Remus caught on then. They had all known Lily and Severus were childhood friends from before Hogwarts. He'd been the one to tell her that she was a witch. "Severus' mother?" He asked aloud.

"Yes." Albus nodded. "Eileen Snape. She reached out to me. Severus had been with me at the time I received the Floo call. He assured me that he erased his mother's memory of Petunia's visit and all subsequent information, with her own permission to do so. That was how it did not leak out." He guaranteed them. "I went back to Privet Drive and spoke to the Dursleys."

"You had assumed they would just take him in, no question." Remus said sadly. Most family would, and Lily had been such a wonderful person. It wouldn't have been too far fetched to assume that her sister would be just as lovely as she. Lily would have absolutely taken in Petunia's boy if the situation were reversed. And given him her unconditional love.

"I had." Albus nodded.

Sirius was managing to bite his tongue until the full explanation came out. His expression was still dark.

"I sat down with them and they voiced their objections to having him raised in their home, alongside his cousin. They worried that his magic would corrupt those around them somehow." He shook his head. "Then Vernon Dursley asked about the Deed to their house. That was how I found out about it." He admitted. "You have to understand that I was trying to keep Harry safe. Having him away from our world for his childhood I had thought was the best option. That and having his blood protection."

"I did barter with them then." He admitted regretfully. "I told them I would go to Gringotts and get the information needed to get them their house signed over."

"The Goblins wouldn't give over that kind of information to you." Sirius pipped up. "You aren't listed as Harry's guardian in any way shape or form. You had no privileges when it came to the Potter financial records."

"No, I didn't." He seemed to be picking his words carefully. This next bit seemed to pain him. "I lied."

"You lied." Both Remus and Sirius echoed leaning forward in their seats.

"I apparated back to Godric's Hollow and found copies of the property information in James' bureau and created the Agreement for Deed to give to the Dursleys. I created it and added in the addendum's so that they would be forced to care for him." He was managing to sound both exhausted and relieved to finally be sharing this information. "I went back to them with it and told them their options; either take in Harry or move, because that house was in his name."

The two Marauders were in shock. He'd just completely admitted that he'd lied to the Muggles to get what he wanted. He was a major propagator of honesty, even if he only gave it in drips and drabs, perhaps putting a slight spin on it. But here he'd fully admitted it.

"Even after having to bribe them to take him in." Remus started. Having to bribe them should have been a major indicator of how poorly they thought of him, even as an infant.

"I did have the neighbor checking in on his welfare." Albus reiterated, sounding slightly defensive now. "Arabella would give me updates. I knew they hadn't loved him as one of their own, but she saw no signs of outright neglect. He was skinny and quiet, but polite and responsible." He sighed. "I took on the responsibility for him that night because I thought it was the best option then. All I can do is apologize now."

"But the Goblins received a copy of the Agreement." Sirius pushed.

Albus nodded. "I sent it on to them. As Harry's new guardians until he came of age, they did have access to certain dealings with his financials, they were just not aware of that." He stressed the importance of that. "I made sure to leave that out when I spoke to them. I wasn't completely thick headed." He impressed upon them. "When I went to Gringotts after having Petunia sign the Agreement, I had her sign another form stating that I had the authority to make it magically binding."

Remus exchanged a look with Sirius. Sirius had been growing less than impressed with the man since he'd assisted with his lawful freedom. It was too late to go back and do anything about it then, however.

()()()()

"Ready for Quidditch Practice?" Harry asked Ginny eagerly as he sat down beside her for breakfast on the morning of their first practice they were going to have after the holidays.

"Right this moment? No." She teased him giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and turning back to her breakfast.

Granted, practice wasn't for 12 more hours, but she enjoyed Quidditch as much as he did. However, as captain his day was going to be spent going over all the play's he wanted to try with the chasers and aiming exercises for the Beaters. Whereas she was probably going to be filling her head with 'learning'.

He smiled and shook his head. "Alright Hermione?" He asked his friend across the table.

"Yeah, alright." She nodded, looking as distracted as she had been all week.

He wasn't sure if her level of distraction was simply due to the lingering awkwardness between she and Ron and their break-up. They were being too cordial to one another, and it was slightly awkward for all of them as he and Neville had gotten used to hanging out with the two of them at the same time.

Ron asked for their opinion last night about how long he should wait until he asked another girl out. As if he and Neville knew anything about that. The two of them were currently with their first girlfriends and knew nothing about break-up's or moving-on etiquette. Though Harry had assumed that it was too early. He'd suggested waiting another week at least, and perhaps not doing anything with another girl around Hermione for a while after that.

Harry wasn't the best observer in the world, but since he now knew that Ron had a thing for Daphne Greengrass, and an interest in Lavender Brown he noticed how his friends eyes lingered on them a bit.

He took a look around the Great Hall then, wondering where Ron could have gotten to, he'd been getting dressed by the time Harry was headed for the bathroom, and with his affinity for food he was sure he'd have been down here shoveling it in by now. Ron was nowhere in sight though. Neville was, he and Luna had been taking turns at each other's house tables for mealtimes. Last night Luna had joined their group for dinner, and it had been really... interesting.

That dreamy look she'd had on her face at the Burrow seemed to be permanently in place. Something about the way she talked too, he completely understood why people would call her 'Loony', but she was a nice girl. Really, it wasn't until after dinner that Ginny explained it was best to assume Luna was being Metaphorical when she spoke of the 'imaginary' creatures that effected the people around them. Nargles just meant that someone was attracted to another, for example. Replaying a few of the things the blond girl had said, she wasn't as out to lunch as he'd initially assumed.

It was great to see his best friend so happy too.

"More research tonight?" Harry continued with Hermione. She'd mentioned to him about her requesting Tom Riddles school records, but he was at a loss for what to say. From Sirius and Remus' expressions when they found out about him telling Ginny about the Horcruxes. He could understand where Dumbledore was coming from, but Hermione's argument was valid as well. She would be showing people how he came to be; she didn't have to know about the Horcruxes.

He really wanted to know what they were planning on doing with the three that hadn't yet been destroyed. Truthfully, he was trying not to think about it too much, pass it off as something for the fully trained wizards to deal with, but there was this nagging at the back of his brain saying he should be more involved. He was the one that had supposedly 'finished him off' fifteen years ago, shouldn't he play more of a roll in Tom Riddle's actual destruction than hissing something in an otherwise unknown language?

He would prefer if Hermione knew all about what had been discovered. No doubt she would have a few insights that weren't thought of. Maybe she could figure out how it is that he had the ability to speak Parselmouth when it was something tied to the Slytherin family, not the Potters. He'd understood about dormant traits in DNA a bit, like how a blue-eyed couple could produce a brown eyed child because one of their great grandparents had had brown eyes, so someone in the Potter family might have married someone from the Slytherin line. It'd be nice to rule out some kind of magic transfer from the night his parents died though. Hermione would dive into that kind of project.

"Well." Hermione started. "I was just mentioning this to Ginny, but I was looking for names of prominent students from around his year, trying to see how many of them wound up on his side. Going back over the notes I took from our Daily Prophets for the names. And, there is another part that I discovered yesterday that will potentially open up this story even more."

"You're being careful about who you talk to about all this, right?" Harry wanted to ensure. People were still scared to say his made up name after all.

"Of course." She rolled her eyes. "I'm still just collecting the facts. I want to have as much information about him as possible before I switch to simple hear-say or potentially jaded stories."

"Just checking." He assured her. "I know you wouldn't want to accidentally insight panic among the mere people, but I also know you can get with your projects."

"Well the way Hermione was explaining her approach at it to me she is essentially humanizing him." Ginny pointed out to him, then turned back to Hermione. "And if you start reading about some poor orphan boy who found out he was a wizard on his eleventh birthday. That'll grab people's attention and make them sympathize with him."

Harry felt a twinge in his chest at that. She could have easily been talking about himself.

"Yes, then it will completely take everyone by surprise once they get further down the story." She agreed and turned to Harry specifically. "I won't be telling anyone outside our group here. Luna knows, but that is just because she's so damn insightful." Hermione bristled. "And." She softened. "If no one else wants to publish it, I might be able to get it in the Quibbler."

"I was just telling her how it might be a neat idea to write her articles like they are a story, not letting on that it is actually about, you know, HIM until later on in the 'story', then let it be known that everything she's written is fact." Ginny shared with him.

"It would be a good way to ease the reader into it. Then again, if I had it known from the off that it is the origin story of the most feared person of our generation then it might stimulate more readership." Hermione wondered.

"How about you do it both ways?" Harry asked, thinking she was getting quite ahead of herself. "See which one feels right."

"I should." She agreed with a determined nod of her head and pulled an agenda out of her bag.

Harry turned to Ginny then, looking to turn his thoughts to more pleasant things. "And how are you doing this lovely morning?" He asked her privately, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm alright." She chuckled. "You seemed in a pretty good mood coming in here."

"Quidditch this evening!" He beamed, finally starting to load up his plate. "Haven't been on a broom for nearly a week and a half. Might have forgotten how to fly by now."

"Yes, that's entirely possible." She deadpanned and rolled her eyes.

()()()()

It was now Saturday and Ginny was rather relieved to be heading back to her dorm and away from that situation. Not that she wanted to get away from Harry, but the dynamic of that impromptu social gathering had been… awkward.

Yes, awkward.

It had been awkward sitting in the kitchen as one part of the three different couples. Not overly, as everyone got along just fine, but Lavender wasn't too keen on Luna. Not that Luna seemed to care at all, but it had been the first time Ginny had seen Neville give someone a dirty look like that. Lavender had simply commented on the bottlecap necklace the Luna choose to wear. Luna told her about how it keeps the Nargles away, then launched into the explanation on what Nargles were.

Lavender, albeit understandably, just stared at Luna wondering if she was taking the piss or if she was crazy. Her turning to Ron incredulously was what had Neville glowering at her.

Ginny liked Lavender well enough. She was nice, she seemed to honestly like Ron as demonstrated by sitting on the stands during the majority of their Quidditch practice that day even though it was still January and freezing out. Ron seemed to like her as well.

He liked her enough anyhow. Ginny didn't think their relationship would wind up being anything more than superficial, but if they were both happy with that for now, a whole two days into it, then who was she to say anything about it.

The problem she was struggling with was that Hermione was her best friend, and Lavender was the kind of girl who would gush about her new boyfriend, not even realizing she was doing it in front of her new boyfriends ex, who despite what she'd said, was clearly not quite over her decision to end things.

As the first week back at school progressed Ginny had noticed Ron paying a little more attention to Lavender. By Friday it seemed that they were 'together' and her appearance at the Quidditch practice was the clincher.

Harry and Neville seemed to have been privy to the inner workings of Ron's decision on that one as neither of them were at all surprised to have her join them in the kitchen for a hot chocolate to warm up.

Hermione had confided that she had a meeting with the Headmaster about access to the school records, so Ginny hoped she was knee deep in her research and enjoying herself, in her own special way, while Ginny herself was attempting to make it seem like the triple date of sorts was not at all odd.

The enjoyable part of it all was that Harry was being rather affectionate with her while they sat there listening to their friends carry on about this and that; Lavender explaining her obsession with Divination, Luna telling them about her search for mythical creatures with her father, and Neville about his apprenticeship, and Harry and Ron bantering about Quidditch moves.

He'd kept tracing his thumb over her palm and pulse point, leaning over to give a kiss to her neck or simply looking at her and giving her this smile. She tried not to be too amused by this affection, but she'd been out of commission for three days and he'd been rather touchy-feely the whole time. It was slightly funny to her, but also gave her the feeling of her heart swelling in her chest when he was like that.

It had been no surprise to her to get back to her dorm after the visit to the kitchen, followed by a visit in an alcove behind a tapestry for a nice long snog, to find Hermione sitting cross legged in her bed with sheets of parchment spread out all over it and making notes.

"The old man said 'yes' then?" She asked unnecessarily and dumped her Quidditch gear into her trunk before going over to her friends' bed. She was eager to find out the information about him herself as well.

"He did." Hermione beamed up at her. "Good practice?" She asked.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You don't have to pretend like you care." She laughed. "This is obviously much more important than whether I can successfully do a Wollongong Shuffle."

Hermione gave her a vacant look at the Quidditch term and shook her head. "I don't even know what that is."

"Never mind." Ginny gestured to one of the documents. "May I?"

"Yes." She nodded. "Just." She stiffened and held her hands hovering over the mess as though they were all precious and delicate. "Please try to put it back exactly where you found it."

"I promise." Ginny told her in humor and sat on the floor by her bed. One by one she began picking up sheet after sheet of progress reports on Tom Marvolo Riddle, the model student. It was amazing all that she'd discovered reading about him that seemed so out of place considering how awful he was later in life. In school he was a tutor, a Prefect, Head Boy. There were reference letters in there for him from students' parents, his heartfelt statement on his discovery of Hagrid being the one with the beast that killed Myrtle.

"On paper he sure looks like a saint." Ginny commented.

"I know." Hermione said resentfully with a shake of her head. "He could be the male version of me for his grades and progress reports. He seems like the ideal student. It's rather creepy to tell you the truth."

Ginny looked up at her friend a little puzzled. "Because no one saw him for what he was?"

"Because he was pretending the whole time." She told her flustered, raising a hand to her bushy hair and making it fluff out even more. "Seven years of school and not one of his superiors seemed to catch on that he wasn't truly a poster child for good behavior. _Except_-" She fished through some of the progress reports. "Here, look at this."

Ginny took the Defense Against the Dark Arts reports from her. Reading through them all again she realized they all stated, in different terminology, that he was adept at the subject in a simple single line overall review. "Okay." Ginny drew out the word, not seeing what Hermione found so obvious.

"That's it. That's all there is to those. Year after year. Every other one of his other subject professors go on and on about him. A proper paragraph at least about how well he's doing, and yet for DADA that is all that's written. 'He's doing well' or something equivalent and with an 'O' every year."

"Oh." Ginny glanced over at the other reports, then up to the DADA ones and took note of the professor's name. "So, you think Dumbledore was saying something by not saying something? Perhaps he just didn't elaborate much on his progress reports."

"Come on. You know what he's like. He's put more effort behind it than that. Words of encouragement at least. I think he was a bit suspicious of Tom Riddle's intentions." She stated. "Rightfully so as it turns out. But really, what professor would think that one of their fourteen-year-old students was going to turn out to be an evil dictator out for genocide." She reasoned. "But what I was really am wondering is what it was that made the Headmaster question Tom Riddle's behavior. And I think I know." She leaned over to her nightstand and pulled open her top drawer, pulling out another file. Leafing through it she took out a piece of paper and handed it to Ginny.

Ginny read over it quickly. It was from the Orphanage. It was about when Dumbledore had gone to have a meeting with Tom about his 'scholarship' to Hogwarts. "Dumbledore was the one that told him he was a wizard then?"

"Yes. And he knew he'd been doing things at the Orphanage. To the other children. He was the one that told him about this world before he knew anything about it or could 'formulate a plot' or anything like that." Hermione explained. "It says right there that the matrons explained the problems they'd had with him."

It was a good theory, Ginny reasoned. But there had to be more.

()()()

Harry slumped his way into the boys change room after sun down on Tuesday. He'd had too much energy to sit up in the Gryffindor common room and wait for his friends to be done doing, well, whatever they were doing. He was pretty sure that Neville was with Luna in the Greenhouses again. Ron was off with Lavender somewhere, and Hermione had stolen Ginny away to work on an Arithmancy assignment.

That left him alone with all this pent-up energy and nothing to do. So, he'd grabbed his broom and headed down to the pitch.

He'd considered adding an extra practice a week to their schedule, but Katie would probably crucify him. She'd already been complaining about the amount of homework she had and no time to do it, she was in her NEWT year. He also didn't want to turn into an Oliver Wood type captain where he was Quidditch obsessed.

His restlessness probably had a lot to do with the fact that his girlfriend was 'out of commission' this week, as she'd called it. Not that he didn't still enjoy their passionate snogging sessions, but they left him wanting, even when she used her hand on him it wasn't quite as satisfying as the real thing. And they'd only been having sex for a few weeks, two of those weeks they were pretty heavily supervised, and it was amazing that they'd managed to sneak off together when they could.

He was planning on taking her back to the Room of Requirement as soon as she was ready to. It might have been a little selfish of him to as her to keep that room a secret between the two of them for now, but he liked having it available for their private use.

Until then he was wound up and trying to use other outlets to dispel the restlessness. He'd been flying around for an hour in an attempt to exhaust himself, and now that he was covered in sweat and looking forward to a shower, he gave himself a mental congratulations for finding a useful way to keep himself occupied as he stripped off his kit and turned on the shower.

The water pounded his back, right between his shoulders getting at a knot that was developing and working away at it while his head went over some of the plays he wanted to try for the chasers at the next practice.

"Shiiiink, Shiink."

He turned around abruptly, bewildered as the sound of the shower curtain opened and closed, then his jaw dropped.

Ginny was in the shower with him with a saucy smile on her lips, and nothing else. "Hi Captain."

"G-Ginny!" His eyes went wide and he pulled her to him in an automatic gesture. "What." He looked over to the curtain, as though he would be able to tell by looking at it what the chances were of them getting caught. "How did you?" His eyes trailed down and he found himself not really caring how it was she'd found him. She was naked.

She leaned her forehead to his and nuzzled his nose with her own and let out a hum. "Checked your dorm first." She whispered. "Then I saw your broom was missing." Her hands went around him and began rubbing at the sore muscles on his back while he groaned at the impromptu massage. "Catching you here and now like this was a happy accident." She rubbed herself against his growing erection. "Very happy."

Harry pulled her even tighter against him and cupped her bum firmly in his hands. "Think I might be more fun than studying in the library then?" He captured her lips with his own and gave her a deep and thorough snog before kissing his way down her body to pay attention to her chest. She had the most lovely breasts in his opinion. The way they fit perfectly in his hand, how her nipples were the same color as her freckles. And the feel of them, firmer than a water balloon, but softer than sand. There was really no comparison. He just wanted to bury his face in them forever. He sighed contently as the smooth skin of her breast pressed against his cheek and he ran his lips over them. "God, I missed you."

He'd seen her every day, multiple times a day, but it was never enough. He could feel her chuckle reverberating through her ribs, but he didn't care so long as she let him keep on touching her naked skin. "Wait." He stood up properly again. "Are you? Can we?" He asked excitedly. If she was naked in the shower with him, then she must be done with her monthly.

Her grin grew wide as he stared at her and she bit her lip to stop from laughing at his expression before nodding. Her hand went between them and she stroked him, he eagerly moved his hands to her as well before kissing her again. "You're so warm." He said between kisses as his fingers slipped inside her.

He could feel her lean back against the shower wall. "And you're so hard." She replied. "I wanted to-"

She tried telling him something, but he was too eager to try and take it slow and captured her lips again, kissing her deeply before he hoisted her left leg up to try and line them up, fumbling with the angle. "Ow." She winced when the head of his penis didn't quite connect with its target and poked her roughly at the crease of her upper thigh.

"Sorry." He grunted before her leg slipped from around his hip. He lifted her other leg and tried again. Kissing her soundly and tried to keep his balance has he managed to get the tip of his penis where he wanted it to go, but then had to readjust his footing before he slipped sideways slightly and slid out of her. He growled and felt some of his ardor leave him as she laughed lightly. "It's not funny!" He protested.

"You're right. It's not." She stated in a not at all convincing manner. "Here. Let me make you feel better." She purred.

He pulled back from her slightly as she pushed on his shoulders and opened his eyes wide when she lowered herself to the floor, so her mouth was poised in front of his erection. His erection that had become painfully full mast at his new view.

She gripped his base and began pumping him. "Feeling better already then, are you?" She winked up at him before lowering her eyes and taking him in her mouth.

"Oh! Holy fuck!" He moaned out. He'd fantasized about this multiple times but feeling the heat of her mouth and the movement of her tongue on the underside of him was not at all something he had imagined accurately. It was so much more.

He leaned over her to rest his head against the shower wall while she worked him over, her hand pumping him in slightly quicker movements that what her mouth was making. It was such a new sensation and he wanted her to keep doing that forever. With how incredible it felt he couldn't believe how long it was taking him to cum.

Time was meaningless at this point, but she'd been down on her knee's for a few minutes at least before he heard her whimper in frustration and he leaned back to give her space to stand.

There was a pout on her face. "Was it not-"

He cut her off with a desperate kiss. "I want you so badly." He growled and thrust against the crease of her leg and hip. There had to be a way to make shower sex work. He needed to be inside her.

"You mean you liked it?" She asked breathlessly while he kissed and grabbed at every part of her body he could reach in some desperate attempt to meld them together.

"That felt so amazing. I want you so badly." He repeated and pulled back to look into her eyes, wildly thinking about how they could make this work in the shower. Maybe if they lay down on the floor?

She licked her lips in the way that told him she had an idea that he may or may not be up for. "I could... turn around?" She offered. "We could see if it'll work that way."

Harry saw star bursts of desire flashing before his eyes as he processed what she meant, then brought up what that position would look like in his mind. He nodded dumbly and watched her turn around slowly and bend over slightly, pushing her bum towards him. She was offering herself up to him really. He was lucky his body was still drawing in breath, because his brain function had nearly cut off at the sight of her bum presented for him like this.

Were all of his fantasies going to come true today?

His breath was coming out in rasps as he ran his hands down her sides slowly to grab at both of her bum cheeks. He lowered himself so he could see the spot he was so desperate to plunder and leaned forward to give it a lick.

Ginny gasped. "Harry!" She moaned.

He ran his tongue over her clit and dipped it inside her once, twice, three times before he rose back to his feet and lined himself up with her, slowly easing himself inside her finally. He grabbed her hips and began giving her slow and thorough thrusts, not taking his eyes off her body for even a moment. "Fuck, Ginny." It was so easy at this angle.

She gasped with pleasure, and adjusted her stance slightly with each beginning thrust, but soon she was moving back against him and he started going faster. The visual he was getting of himself disappearing inside her was spurring him on, as were her cries of pleasure every time he hit a spot deep inside her, and he wasn't going to last long.

He felt it coming over him. She wasn't there yet, but he felt like the lightning bolt on his forehead was shooting down his body as his orgasm shot through him and couldn't help gripping her hips so hard they would bruise as he thrust aggressively and let loose shooting off inside her. He was still tense as he milked the last of his orgasm repeating expletives with ever thrust until he relaxed against her, using the last of his energy trying not to fall to a puddle on the floor.

He stilled finally, still gripping onto her sides, but with much less force. His eyes didn't want to remain open.

Ginny turned her head to look over her shoulder at him. "Liked that then did you?" She gave him a cheeky grin.

"More than I can articulate." He managed as she stood up causing him to slip out of her. He hugged her tight to his front, lazily rubbing his hands all over her stomach, chest and down between her legs. "You didn't get yours though."

"Hmm. Don't worry about it." She replied sounding as complacent as he felt and leaning her head back on his shoulder. "I still felt good."

**AN- I've gone back and changed out the Authors Note on Chapter 1. The reason the Weasley's didn't go to Hogwarts was not because of the non-existent Tuition fee's, it was all the other school expenses that they couldn't afford i.e- uniforms, cauldron's, books, pets, brooms, wand's, and other various supplies.**

**I am fully aware that J.K. Rowling decided that you had to be 'accepted' to a 'public' ****institution.**


	22. Hey, I Heard you like the Wild One's

**AN- Sorry, no Hinny in this chapter. Just Remonks, Luponks, Remadora or what ever your version of their pairing name is :D.**

**()()**

**Chapter 22- Hey, I heard you like the Wild Ones**

**()()**

It had been two weeks. Two whole weeks in which he could have reached out and explained himself, but no. He'd sent no Owl or made any attempt to contact her save for the first that simply said he was sorry which she'd replied to, and now she had to be the one to go and see him.

It was her own fault really.

She was the one that brought this whole program to light, he was the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. There was no way around it, it had to be her that went to talk to his seventh and sixth-year students too _because_ she was the one that had implemented the program.

Two weeks and she hadn't been able to get it out of her head. That kiss he'd given her had been amazing, but clearly, he regretted it immediately and that cut her right in the feelings. She'd tried to brush it off and forget about it, but there was something about him that she found so appealing. It was making her angry really. But that was good. Angry she could work with. Angry was better than being a sobbing mess curled up with a bottle of wine and a sappy romance novel.

There was nothing for it, she sighed and tossed Floo powder into her fireplace. "Hogwarts Headmasters Office." She shouted and was swirled and suctioned away. "Stuck the landing!" She celebrated quietly to herself once she was spat out the other side.

A chuckle came from the other side of the room. "Congratulations Nymphadora." Dumbledore greeted her, not rising from his desk.

She groaned, she should have known he was there. "Please call me Tonks." She nearly whined at him. That awful freaking name!

"How about Auror Tonks?" He offered with a twinkle in his eye.

"Even better." She grinned and gave him a salute before heading out of his office.

The seventh-year students were going to be the first class she would be talking to. There was only one NEWT level seventh year class and two sixth, all of which were today. Finding her way to the classroom she took a deep breath and schooled her emotions and attitude before she knocked quickly three times and opened the door.

"Auror Tonks. You're a bit early." Remus stood at the head of the classroom; the tables were all occupied by what looked to be third year students.

"Wotcher." She winked at them and changed her hair from the blue pixie cut she'd been sporting to her natural shoulder length wavy brown. Smiling at the awed sounds coming from the kids and heading up to the front, leaning back against the wall. "Sorry if I'm early. Pretend I'm not here." She told Remus and the kids, managing as relaxed a tone as she could and averted her eyes from him to inspect the creatures and objects around the classroom.

He looked tired she'd noticed, and worried. The lines at the corner of his eyes were more prominent than she remembered. She allowed herself the luxury of looking her fill once he'd continued his teachings.

While he went on about Hinkypunks she couldn't help but watch the way his hands moved while he spoke. The gentle way they circled round through the air to give importance to his descriptions and explanations. He had nice hands. They looked strong too. It made her think that he might be deceptively strong and wondered if he had nice arms under that blazer he was sporting. His biceps didn't look bulky, but they might be defined. He'd certainly had an easy time of it lifting her against that pub wall and keeping her there.

Her cheeks were growing warm at the memory, her downstairs contracted at the though as well. She gave herself a mental shake and focused some energy on not allowing any color to redden her cheeks.

Remus gave a cough and she tried to return her focus to what he was saying as he adjusted his jacket and went to stand behind his desk. He was looking at his class, but his tone had changed slightly. His actions were more forced as well.

She'd always been good at reading body language; it was something she'd become proficient with over the years. It helped when impersonating someone, and she'd excelled in her interrogation courses in the Academy because of it. She'd proven herself to be quite the effective lie detector. And she couldn't help herself from trying to get a proper read on him.

He was stiff, concealing part of himself, and his complexion had darkened slightly. She narrowed her eyes to check his pupils too, they were slightly dilated.

Well, this was slightly surprising.

Pleasantly surprising.

He continued with his lesson and she turned to inspect the items on the cabinets beside her and busied herself with reading some of the assignments holding a place of commendation on the wall. From what she was hearing behind her he was a much better Professor than what she'd had for her third-year DADA class. Professor Vickors could have battled Binns for who put the most students to sleep. He'd bored himself to death by the end of the year, literally. Thankfully Vickors hadn't come back as a ghost professor like Binns did, otherwise there was no way she would have made her NEWT in this subject.

By the time he'd let his class out with their assignment she noted he looked rather more composed. "Professor Lupin." She hopped up to sit on a desk to wait for his next class to file in.

He was manually erasing the chalk board with his back to her, and she caught the slight slowing down of his movements with her greeting. "Auror Tonks." His voice was deeper.

"I'm gathering you know how this will go over, but I'll go over it anyhow in case you were too busy to read the whole letter." She told him.

"I read it." He turned around from the board to look at her sharply.

"Oh." She said calmly. "Just didn't know for sure you got it." She let that linger in the air a moment. "Anyway, I'll just give them a quick overview of what the shadow program is and then a description of my day to day. My expectations for what a career as an Auror was when I was in school, and what it actually is. We want these guys to have an understanding of what to expect. Then I'll open the floor for questions."

He stood still as she spoke, he seemed to be trying to read her face or expressions for hidden agenda, but she'd been actively keeping her eyes a dull brown and focusing on not thinking about how many steps it would take for her to be pressed up against him again.

"About our last..." He started, giving a hard swallow.

She dropped her guard and gave an intentionally slow lick of her bottom lip before sucking on it slightly, feeling a jolt of triumph when his eyes zeroed in on the movement. "Our last?" She prompted.

"I shouldn't have." He started slowly, still staring at her lips.

Tonks leaned forward slightly, resting her palms on the end of the table and locking her elbows. "Yes?"

The sound of a class full of footsteps that had echoed from the corridor diminished as the last of the third years wandered off to their next lesson had begun to grow loud once more as the seventh years made their way into the classroom. Tonks slid off the table and turned to watch the faces of the students coming in. This batch of students would have all started school the year after she'd left. It was amazing to her how much time had actually passed since then. Nearly eight whole years since she'd sat at these tables.

She went to stand beside Remus, her arm brushing against his slightly. "I'll let you introduce me." She told him, trying to make that sound as much like an innuendo as she could pull off. Judging from the minuscule huff that emanated from his nose, she'd done it right.

"Class we have a special guest today." Remus announced as the last student took their spot. "Auror Tonks is here to tell you about a new program being implemented at the Ministry for those of you hoping to seek out a career with them after your NEWTS." He gestured for her to come forward as he moved back and allowed her to take spotlight.

"Wotcher!" She greeted them all with a smile and changed her hair back to its dark blue pixie cut, earning some intrigued smiles from the group of young adults. "My name is Tonks, I've been an Auror for coming up on five years now after spending three grueling years going through the Auror Academy and as a Junior Auror. The reason I've come to talk to you today is because I know some of you are interested in going to the Academy yourselves and I had the privilege of talking to someone like yourselves over the holiday that showed interest in doing a day of 'Shadowing'. As in spending the day following around an Auror and seeing what the job is really like."

Several of the students perked right up at that and their eyes lit up.

"Ah." She grinned. "I see there are a few here that find that idea exciting. And that is entirely misguided." She emphasized. "I had thought a career as an Auror would be one wild endorphin pumping case after another. Well it isn't. And that idea has been an issue with applicants for several years now. See my job, like any job has many downsides."

She looked behind her and gestured to Remus. "Take the professor here. His job isn't just to stand before you twice a week for a period of time and teach you. He has lesson plans to pull together, assignments to grade, detentions to watch over and a million other little things in between. Being an Auror is thirty percent field work, eighty percent paperwork." She held up her hand. "I know that math doesn't add up but trust me. When I'm in the field and have a reason to pull my wand I've half my mind dedicated to thinking about the paperwork I'll have to fill out _because_ I drew my wand. And if I have to use a spell? The paperwork is even more."

"This is part of the reason why we are losing Auror's after they make it successfully through the Academy as well. Paperwork's a bitch, oh, sorry." She snickered at her profanity slip up and earned a few chuckles from the students. "There are a lot of upsides to the job as well, and they are all the things that you think. Catching wrong doer's, having authority, getting to work on some really interesting cases." She listed off. "But no job is all sunshine and daisy's, so this program has been pulled together so that you all will get a chance to make an informed decision about whether you want to be in a position like this before immediately opting to go into the Academy." She finished. "I am here for any questions you have as well." She opened the floor.

A hand went up and she raised her eyebrows in acknowledgement. "Cormac McLaggen," He introduced himself. "If we do the shadowing, do we get to select which Auror we are paired up with?"

"No." She told him straight. "And the shadowing will be taking place in the Ministry only. Participants will be seeing the bureaucratic side of the job. They will be able to talk to the different Auror's around them about closed cases and other highlights of that Auror's career that aren't designated classified, but the for the Auror specific shadowing, no one will be leaving level two of the Ministry." She stipulated. A few of the student's shoulders sagged slightly at that.

"How many of you were interested in attending the Auror Academy in the fall?" She asked them. There were several applications that had been requested and sent out from the Academy, but several of those could have been from home-schooled students or adults looking for a change, so it wasn't just the students in this room.

About twelve hands raised in the air. "Good to know. It is grueling work, but you walk away with a much more in-depth knowledge of Defense and Dark Arts. The classes will exercise your brains and your bodies to the limit, but after you make it through the first year, you'll feel more capable than you've ever felt before."

"You find it's worth all the work?" A girl asked. She looked serious and had a Slytherin crest embroidered on her cloak.

"Absolutely. It's worth all the sweat and paperwork. But it is also something I've always wanted to do. I'm old enough to remember what the last war was like, how it was leaving people emotionally ravaged. Now every day that the Daily Prophet's lead story is some gossip article or boring law that got passed I feel like I've contributed in some way in keeping that terror from happening again." She told them honestly. "That's the same for most Auror's."

She gave a moment for any further questions. "So, look. I've got our first round of applications available if you're interested in the Shadow Program. It's only a day of your time over the summer, exact date to be determined. If you are interested, I'll leave them with your Professor. Just fill it out and Owl it in, you'll be contacted at a later date about it." She withdrew the applications and set them on Remus' desk. "It's lunch next yeah?" She asked him quietly.

He nodded. "Yes. The first sixth year class is at one."

"I'll see you at one then." She maintained eye contact for a second longer than necessary and gave a wave farewell to the class before she headed into the corridor, closing the door with a frown. Talking to the students was painless enough but being around Remus was something else.

It had to be the age difference that was bugging him. Or maybe he was prejudiced against Metamorph's? He doesn't seem like someone to hold a prejudice though. He probably wouldn't have kissed her back if he had a problem with her ability.

And in her experience most guys only saw her ability as a plus, she thought with a scowl. She'd had boyfriends that had started making requests once they were past the point of casual. She'd humored the first few requests of some of them, then would break it off as each of them grew more comfortable asking her to change who she really was. It made her feel like her true form wasn't good enough, and that wasn't a good feeling.

Remus though had seemed to appreciate her true self on New Year's Eve, and he'd been bashful when she flirted. He'd been easy to carry on with at the Three Broomsticks, that's why she'd made her move, and he'd responded by snogging her brains out.

So, what the fuck?

She did her best not to literally stomp out her frustration as she made her way down to Hagrid's hut to give him a visit. She'd spent the majority of her detentions in the company of Hagrid and he'd always made her feel better about herself. He was a gentle giant, and easily the nicest person she'd ever met.

She'd made it all the way down to his hut and had her hand raised to knock when she noticed a movement in the forest and saw all of the students walking through the tree's, Hagrid's head and shoulders above them all and leading the way. He was carrying a large crate in front of him and heading her way. She grinned and made towards him.

"Hagrid" She called out as she approached.

"Well, if it isn't little Dora Tonks!" He grinned beneath his scruffy scraggly beard. "What brings a busy Auror like yourself all the way down here?"

Each of her detentions she'd served with him had been in the forest. She had liked going through it at night or doing work in the yard and such. Hagrid was always such a sweetheart to her, and she had occasionally visited him for tea as well, but it had been a long time since she'd seen him. She could have used some of his cheering up right then. He looked too busy to do that, but just seeing him was brightening her spirits a bit.

"Come to talk to some of the DADA classes." She beamed and took in the students following him. "What are you up to with this lot?"

"Care of Magical Creatures class." He said proudly. "Made me the Professor a few years ago. Just had a fun lesson with Nifflers."

She blinked at him in astonishment. He was knowledgeable about magical creatures, absolutely, but so far as she knew he only had a second-year education and didn't have any further certificates of qualification for a position like that.

"He's really great." A young girl pipped up from the head of the class. "They're always fun lessons." She was scowling slightly at Tonks, looking rather like she felt it her place to defend her teacher.

"Oh, I know he's well capable of dealing with the beasts." She assured her. "Just surprised is all." She turned back to Hagrid. "I'll leave you to it, Professor." She inclined her head and slowed down trying to figure out what to do to occupy her time now.

"Are you really an Auror?" A snooty sounding boy asked giving her a looking over.

She raised her eyebrow at his attitude and did a quick study of his appearance before replicating it. "Are you really questioning me?" She asked, mimicking his voice as well. A few of the students around him made awed sounds and she switched back to herself and turned back to the castle. She hadn't been a fan of snooty boys while she was at school, she certainly wasn't going to occupy her time with them now she was out.

The kitchen was where she settled herself to pass time until the next class.

There were plenty of things she could go over in her mind to occupy her time, cases, projects, what she wanted to get up to on her days off, but instead she was pouting about a boy. She was stronger than that. But he was so cute, and nice, and my goodness could he snog. That hadn't been a wand she was feeling pressed against her then either. It was much, much thicker than a wand.

Her last proper boyfriend had been two years ago now, and though she'd had a few dates in between then and now she missed the intimacy that comes from being in a couple. She'd dated good boys, she'd dated bad boys, smart, stupid, a mixture of the two. But there was something about Remus Lupin that really appealed to her. He'd been cheeky with her mother, he was quick witted, intelligent and yet the way he'd blushed when she made a comment. It was endearing, and she was just really attracted to him. Sirius had made a comment about him being single, so what was his fucking problem?

It wasn't like she was full of herself, or vapid or anything, but she was reasonably attractive. Petite with enough boob, she wasn't flat chested or anything, and really, she could make them whatever size she wanted. It'd be nice to know if he was attracted to her as herself though. She was determined to stay as herself around him today and find out where he stood.

There were just the two classes this afternoon that she was going to speak to, then she'd go back after his last class of the day and find out what the level of interest there was from his students. If he didn't give her any more indication then she'd leave him alone and mope for a few days, then carry on with her life.

Tonks scowled at herself. She'd only known him for a few weeks, and this was the third time they'd seen each other face to face, and yet she was obsessing about him.

She ate a bit, chatted with some of the House Elves and took a wander around the castle to visit some of her old favorite hangout spots and made her way back to the DADA classroom.

He was being just as cordial and cognizant of the amount of space there was between them this time as he was last time, not allowing her to stand too close to him or to touch like they had last time. At one point it seemed he was discretely trying to hold his breath?

She gave the same spiel to his first class full of sixth year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, then wandered off again. This time to the library.

It was amazing how much time had already passed since she was a student here. The amount of stressing she'd done over her OWL and NEWT preparation, only to have had such easy examinations in comparison to how prepared she'd been.

She wandered down to the restricted section, to the far back corner under a window and looked down at the base of the bookshelf to her left. If you didn't know where to look you wouldn't see the small initials that were carved there. A tiny NT that had been scratched in with a bobby pin time and time again when she'd hidden away there.

The third class she was to speak to was Harry Potter's class. This time she waited until the class had already filed in before coming in and finding him seated at the far back of the room with a pretty redhead that must have been his girlfriend Ginny. Tonks gave him a friendly smile and waited for Remus to introduce her to the class. Now she was making sure it was her that was purposefully keeping distance between them.

There were a few more questions from this group of students than there had been from the last two, mostly stemming from the girl sitting in front of Harry. Tonk's cousin was in this class too. Draco Malfoy sneered at her in recognition and she very nearly snarled back at him, daring him to say anything to her. The bad blood between their family had been made worse recently with Sirius coming back to take over as Head of House Black and it would have been wildly inappropriate of her to start into something with this brat while she was at the school representing the Auror Department.

She made sure to stand on the opposite side of the class from the Malfoy brat too.

It all went smoothly though and each of the classes seemed to have the same level of interest from each of the students. After chatting with Harry's class and saying her piece, again she left and went for another wander around the grounds.

When the final class of the day was over Tonks went back into the DADA room, closing the door behind her. "Did you get many that seemed interested in the program?" She asked Remus as he was shuffling papers together on his desk.

"I think there was a good number of them that found it intriguing. You should be getting several applications back." He nodded, not looking up.

"Department Head Bones is considering the idea for other departments in the Ministry as well. It would help a lot of these kids know what they were getting themselves into with their career choices." She sat back up on the table at the front. "I was wondering if it might be too much to start pulling the students during the school year as well." She started, trying to get a dialogue going between them. "Doing the program only during the summer wouldn't be too difficult, but students might be more interested if it meant they got to miss a day of school for it."

"Well you'd need approval from the Headmaster more than myself for that approval." He told her, still not looking up from his papers.

She couldn't help the huff that left her as her shoulders sagged with his dismissiveness. "Fine. I'll leave then." She bit and stood up. She hesitated before leaving though and changed her mind. "You know what." She marched around to his side of the desk and put her hand down on the paper he'd been reading. "You don't have to be like that. We snogged, and regardless of how much you clearly enjoyed it in the moment, you aren't interested. I get it. But we're going to have to work together time to time in the future though, so how about you just tell me what your problem is, and we can move on?"

He was frozen still looking down at the paper beneath her hand. He said nothing and wasn't so much as breathing as she stood over him waiting for something. Anything.

"What then? I'm not old enough for you?" She asked. No response. "So, is it prejudice then?" She asked with less bite.

"No!" He growled and stood abruptly, his chair scraping back three feet. He looked furious at her suggestion. "I would never." He enunciated. "You can't control what you are."

"Then what? We had been having a good time, I know that wasn't just one sided." She searched his eyes. He looked just as confused as she felt, but his eyes were darker than she remembered. He didn't seem like he was repulsed by her, and earlier she was positive she'd aroused him, from across the room no less. She wasn't backing down, she wanted to be close to him, if really wasn't interested then he'd have pushed her away by now, so she stepped half and inch closer to him and raised her eyebrow in challenge. Remus visibly stiffened, but sucked in a deep breath through his nose, his eyes closed as he did it, like he was savoring the air.

He had bags around his eyes that had grown more pronounced over the day. She couldn't help herself from reaching up and cupping his cheek. It was an instinctual gesture that she didn't realize she'd done until his eyes opened sharply, zeroing in on hers.

It couldn't have been more than a second they'd stood there staring at each other before his lips were on hers once more.

This wasn't a 'sigh into it' type of kiss either. He had instantly encompassed all of her senses. She could hear the desperate growl in his throat, taste his lips and tongue, feel his body pressed tightly against hers, see spots behind her closed eyelids and smell his manly scent. She gasped in shock of how suddenly he was on her, but couldn't resist returning his vigor. Something about his scent was driving her to deepen their kiss more. He had this aroma that brought to mind the image of him taking her on a bear skin rug before a fireplace. Like warm fur and smoke.

Visualizing them like that was just making her desperate for more, and his low growls as they snogged were getting her hotter. His hands started wandering and grasping at her. Blindly she felt for the table and pushed aside the papers to settle herself down on it and wrap her legs around his waist. They both groaned as his length rocked against her.

He pulled at the bottom of her blouse to pry it from her trousers and quickly his nimble fingers found their way under her bra to grasp at her bare breast. She nipped at his bottom lip and ground herself harder against him. Remus pulled his lips away from hers and yanked her shirt up as high as it would go before encircling one of her nipples with his mouth.

There was no slow progression with him. It was one to one hundred in an instant and she was all for it.

As he made himself familiar with her chest she grabbed for her wand and blocked off the door with a powerful locking spell and silencing charm before letting loose her moans of appreciation. She pulled her shirt and bra the rest of the way off then grabbed for his shirt and tried to fumble her way through tugging it off him. He rose up pulled his vest and shirt over his head. She sat up and ran her hands up and down his chest as his head dipped to claim her mouth again.

Shagging on the professor's desk had never seemed more appealing to her than it did just then. His fingers reached for the button on her trousers with no hesitation, undoing it and the zipper while they feasted on each other's mouths.

She didn't even follow what had happened properly. Just a small 'eep' sound escaping her at being suddenly airborne for only a moment and then her bare bum was touching hard wood. The desks hard wood, not Remus', which was still confined in his trousers. Not for long though. Tonks got his trousers open and he yanked her trousers the rest of the way off.

He pushed his trousers and boxers down and she didn't have any time to get an eyeful of him before he'd forced her back on the table and pushed himself inside her. Her eyes went wide at the, for lack of better word, assault. Had she not been so wet for him it would have hurt. As it was her eyes rolled back when she adjusted to the feeling of his largeness being buried inside her. Only five minutes ago he was ignoring her, now he was taking her roughly on his desk.

And it felt amazing.

His arms were keeping her in place against the desk surface with his grip on the edge of the table either side of her neck as he pistoned in and out of her. She could do nothing but lay there and take it, nor did she want to do anything to stop or slow him down.

In previous relationships she'd wanted to have her boyfriend's take her like this, even once. But asking them to essentially pretend to rape her wasn't something she'd ever felt comfortable articulating and had always settled for taking them for a hard ride instead. It hadn't ever been close to this.

His hand came down between them to where they were joined, and her eyes went wide as his thumb pressed to her clit.

She looked up at him and her breath caught when she found him staring lustily at her. Like looking at her was all the fuel he needed to bring him to completion. It surprised her to see that lust and desire there in his eyes. She couldn't look away from him as she felt the flush rise from her chest to her cheeks. She was close and her hand came up to grip his shoulder as she bared down, willing her orgasm to happen now.

She cried out as it shot through her body.

He was still taking her when she reached the end of her cliff and relaxed back into the table. Biting her lip, she looked up at him again, his gaze was further south than her face. She rocked harder against him and used her bit of control to expand her breasts to a larger size.

"No." He growled and slammed himself into her. "Change back." He ordered in a raspy demand.

She changed back, focusing on how her nethers were building up again. Then his mouth was on her again. He was attached to her neck and she cried out at the sensation. Tonks couldn't tell which was more pleasurable, him pounding into her or the feel of his tongue and teeth against her skin.

Again, the pressure between her legs built up and her insides gripped around him tightly while a wave of pleasure shot from her privates up to her brain and very nearly turned her blind for a moment. She shook from the pleasure and heard a loud growl from Remus, and he jabbed into her with intent as he finished.

Slowly they both caught their breath as he slackened his thrusting movements. He was gliding in and out of her slowly and thoroughly now, losing momentum with each movement until they lay there, him resting his torso and head completely on top of her, her legs wrapped around his bum, and both caught their breath.

He'd just made her cum twice. On a hard surface no less. Sure, it had been a while since she'd been with anyone, but still, you would think that would make it harder for someone else to get her off because she'd become accustomed to dealing with her needs herself, but no. He'd had no problem driving her over the edge.

Tonks gave as deep a satisfied sight as her body allowed with the pressure of him on top of her. Her hand came up to tangle in his hair as she closed her eyes properly to relish in the lingering feeling of satisfaction that came from being taken like that. It wouldn't be long before her back and bum started protesting and telling her off for getting fucked on such a hard surface.

It was easy to tell when Remus finally came down from his high and reality had set in. His body became tense before he came up on his elbows and looked down at her with surprised and concerned eyes. Rather the same expression he'd had after snogging her against the pub wall then turned away from her.

"I shouldn't have." He started, and she felt her stomach drop. "That was a mistake." He stated and delicately pulled out of her.

Her jaw locked once her lips had come together, eyes shut tight, but forcing her face not to display any hurt and anger at him. Shagging her was a mistake? Just like snogging her had been a mistake?

The sound of him pulling up his trousers and messing about with his belt had her sitting up. She opened her eyes, avoiding looking at him while she fetched her own knickers and trousers and pulled them on. She didn't look at him after she'd taken her boots in one hand or grabbed her blouse and bra from the other side of the desk. Hurriedly she pulled them on and made sure her wand was back in her pocket before unlocking the classroom door and leaving him there alone.

She refused to feel anything more that determination to get home. Just get home and clean herself up, then she could let her real feelings about what had just happened come to the surface.

She tried her best to control herself on the way back to the Headmasters office, hoping beyond hope that he himself wouldn't be there. Her emotions in the state they were in could have her hair turning multiple different colors.

That had been the first sign of her being a Metamorph, the ability to change her hair. It was something she didn't have to think hard about, and it was the first thing to give her away when she was truly worked up, like she was just then.

The halls were mercifully empty as she came to find herself in front of the gargoyle guarding her most direct escape route. She paused a moment in front of the stone figure before taking in a deep breath and giving it the password. Mentally she was telling herself she was fine. Everything was just fine. Everything had gone smoothly with the students, and there were several that had seemed quite interested in giving the Shadow Program a try. The day had been a success.

She needed to look like the day had been a success.

"Lemon Drops" Tonks told the gargoyle and it jumped aside, allowing her to walk up the spiral staircase to the office and knocking three times.

There was no response, but she opened the door and poked her head in. The desk had no one sitting behind it, mercifully. Crossing the room with a nod at a few of the previous headmasters' portraits she took a pinch of the Floo Powder and called out the name of her flat.

Her mask began crumbling as she brushed the soot off of herself in her sitting room. Turning around to her fireplace she blocked the Floo for the night, a few tears escaping down her cheeks. She didn't need anyone spontaneously coming over while she was falling apart on the couch.

How was it that someone could make her feel so desired and so rejected all in one go?

It was ridiculous how much she liked him. How she'd wanted him to do that to her on his desk and let him go ahead and do it too. Because wanting something and letting it happen were two different things. She let out a growl of frustration with herself and this whole situation as she threw her jacket to the floor. Her grunts and growls continuing as she hopped around the room on one foot attempting to get her blasted shoes off, her frustration not letting her take care of it the rational way either, like sitting down.

The last boot came off and she threw them both towards the door at the other side of the room and stomped off to the kitchen to get a beer. There was nothing stronger in the house because, stupid her, she liked saving the stronger drinks for while she was out. She figured if she was going to get drunk it wasn't going to be in her flat while she was alone.

Not that she could have foreseen a situation like this arising where she could have really used a strong drink to drown her sorrows in. Beer was going to have to do the job, because she certainly wasn't heading back outside.

She'd just cracked the cap off of her first bottle and taken a swig when there was a knock at her door.

Not a knock actually, it was a pounding.

She snarled in the direction of the door before stomping over to it and pulling it open. "What?" She growled at the person on the other side, then nearly dropped her beer when she saw it was him.

He was disheveled and had a crazed look in his eye, but it was him. He was standing on her hallway landing wearing only the outfit he'd been wearing all day, no coat. "I'm sorry." He sounded strained.

Her shock had her standing there staring at him open mouthed for a moment before she remembered how infuriated she was. "What do you want?" She asked angrily once she'd recovered.

He let himself into her flat and closed the door behind him, throwing up a privacy ward that had her slightly alarmed. She took a step back and pulled her own wand. His hands came up in surprise, showing her, he meant her no harm.

"What? Why are you here?" She asked again. "I left. Wasn't that what you wanted?"

"No!" He sounded shocked. "I merely." He gulped. "It was a mistake."

There, he'd said it again. She closed her eyes momentarily to try and keep herself from lashing out at him and killing him right on the spot. "I know." She told him dangerously through gritted teeth. "I heard you the first time."

He looked pained. "I didn't mean it to sound like I meant for you to leave like that."

He was an idiot, wasn't he! She'd had it all wrong before and his idiocy was driving her mad. That madness was now bubbling over into a full blown rage. "Well, next time you tell a woman that fucking her on your desk was a mistake, maybe you should do her the favor of PULLING OUT FIRST!" She screamed at him, then threw her bottle of beer at him in her fury.

He managed to duck quickly, and the bottle smashed against the door. His jaw dropped open and eyes went wide. "I-I." He was at a loss for words.

Tonks turned on her heel and stomped back to the kitchen. She'd only managed one sip of that drink, now she'd wasted it. "What are you even doing here?" She hollered back at him as she reached into her cool cupboard and popped the cap off another one. "Think you made yourself pretty clear back there." She took a swig and went back to stand across the room from him. "I gather you hadn't gotten a shag in in the past while and here I was, all naive and stupidly lusting after you. Just couldn't help yourself, is it?" She glowered. "Figured you could forget about the age difference, or what ever your actual hang up is, if it meant you could get your dick wet, then regretting it after?"

"It isn't like that!" He argued, finally finding it in himself to state his case. "I wasn't saying it was a mistake because you're too young, or just because I simply acted on impulse. I mean." He shook his head angrily at himself. "I acted on impulse, but how could I not? You knew what you were doing to me!"

Tonks squinted her eyes in confusion. "You're saying it's my fault that you made the mistake of shagging me? What the fuck?!" He made no sense.

"No. It wasn't." He took a deep breath and settled into something of a composed stance, calming his features. Then in a very forced polite manner he started back up. "I am very sorry if you felt that way. I didn't mean for this to have happened, but I thought after- _that_, that you deserved more than an owl."

He seemed to be waiting for her to interject with something, but she was too angry still to think straight. If he wanted to give her some long drawn out apology or explanation, then she'd let him. Then kick his sorry arse out after and continue on with her evening of wallowing. Wallowing with the remaining four beer she had being consumed in the bath followed by eating a brick of cheese, just so she'd have another regret for the evening that was easier to deal with.

"I like you. I do, but we can't be in a relationship." He said in earnest.

Her shoulders sagged as her anger let way to sadness at that. Deep down she must have still been holding out hope for something like that to be an option. Him standing here in front of her saying it wasn't going to be on the table was just bringing that fact home. It was making her curious too. Why was he even making the effort to be here explaining himself if he didn't feel something for her?

"Why not?" She asked him simply.

"I. We. I just can't. And you are a young woman." He exasperated, as though that were supposed to be enough of an answer. "You're beautiful and have a great personality and can manage to get any man, you don't need to settle for me."

"Don't be complimentary and self-deprecating in the same go." She spat, finding her anger again. "And don't tell me what I should and shouldn't do."

"I don't mean to. I just. I can't think straight!" He exasperated. "Why does this have to be happening now?" He asked himself. "Why do you have to smell like that?" He bit out at her.

Tonks would have taken a step back in surprise were she not already against the wall, and on the opposite side of the room from him. "You have a problem with the way I smell?" She asked offended. "I'm ten feet away from you! And I didn't invite you here so coming into my flat and complaining about my stench-"

"I never said you smelled bad. You smell too good! I can't think properly and I'm having trouble stating my case." He ran his hands through his hair and began pacing slightly.

She smelled good to him? He was a bloody walking contradiction, telling her to stay away from him essentially and yet showing up at her doorstep to do so. He looked like a wild animal pacing back and forth like that, a near crazed look in his eye. She wasn't scared of him though, even if he did seem to be working hard to control himself from doing... something.

He kept pausing in his paces every few moments and turning towards her as though he had his statement of explanation ready for her, then his eyes would darken and he'd close them and begin pacing again.

She was watching this happen and letting him attempt to get it all together. It was making her feel better seeing how he was falling apart about this 'mistake' he'd made. She had been playing with him a bit today, trying to get him to lust after her, and it had worked. That had made her feel good and powerful, and then he'd given her the best shag of her life and was now in her flat trying to make up for turning it all to shit and having no success getting the words out. For some odd reason that was making her feel better.

He made this movement with his hip after he'd paused his pacing yet again and turned to look at her. It drew her attention down to his trousers.

And how there was a bulge in his trousers.

Her jaw nearly dropped open again.

This whole thing was ridiculous. He'd shagged her not thirty minutes ago and was ready for another go around yet trying to tell her why it was all such a bad idea.

Fine. She resolved. If he was going to be messing with her, then she'd mess with him too. Her emotions about it were already all over the place, what difference did it make at this point. She chugged the rest of her beer and set the bottle down. Her hands were only slightly shaking as she brought them up to her blouse and began undoing the buttons. If she did this, he'd either leave and she could indulge in her wallowing back up plan, or he'd lose control and shag her again. Perhaps this time in the bedroom, where it was more comfortable.

One by one the buttons came open. He didn't notice until she had only two left.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Remus froze.

"It's been a long day." She ground out. "I don't feel like standing here and watching you talk yourself out of doing what you want to do." The last two buttons came undone and she pulled the shirt down her arms and cast it aside. Her hands went to her jeans and she popped open the button on those too, carefully watching how his eyes were focused on what her hands were doing as she pulled down the short zip.

Her body was growing warm with the victory she was feeling from his overall body language. He wanted her again. And badly. If he couldn't make up his mind, she was going to do it for him.

Begging whatever powers that be to not let her clumsiness get in the way of her seduction attempt and break this palpable sexual tension she'd created; Tonks slid her trousers down her legs and managed to hook her toes on the hem of each leg to tug her legs free without falling over. Now she stood on the other side of the room from him wearing only her bra and knickers.

He still simply stood there staring at her with dark eyes.

This powerful force seemed to radiate through the room. It was the same that she'd felt in his classroom right before he'd ravaged her. It was this overwhelming desire. Between his look and this feeling of desire, and being desired, she was close to coming undone simply standing there for him.

Managing to pull herself together somewhat she reached a hand behind her and released the catch of her bra. Tonks heard his breath hitch across the room. Bringing her hand to her shoulders, making sure to use her elbows to squeeze her breasts together and accentuate her natural features slightly, she gently pulled the straps down her arms and let the bra fall to the floor. Not letting any nerves stop her from completing her mission she ran her forefingers along her knicker line, dipping under the material at her hips and pulling it down to her thighs and letting gravity do the rest.

His eyes were nearly black now as she stood before him completely naked.

There. Her intentions were entirely known to him now. He could take her or leave her, but if he left then, while she was baring it all for him like this, she was done. The rejection would hurt, but it would finish whatever this was between them.

Still he didn't make a move.

She couldn't simply stand there naked for him all night. With a shake of her head she turned to head down the hallway to her bedroom. She'd only managed two steps however before she was grabbed from behind.

He pulled her back against him and attached his mouth to her neck as his hands grabbed at her. One buried in her curls, one finger pressing perfectly against her puckered clit and the other hand grasping desperately at her breast.

She couldn't do anything but cry out in pleasure at the onslaught of sensations he brought down on her. Having him suddenly encircling her she was disoriented. Disoriented and horny as all hell. There was his scent again as well. It was like Amortentia and was driving her crazy. Giving him that little show had gotten her wet, having him spread that wetness around and dipping his fingers inside her without question was spurring her desperation on. She rocked back against his erection pressing into her bum and circled her hips for his fingers to follow the pattern she was dancing out.

His hands occupied, she reached behind her to tug at his clothes, she needed him naked too. Pulling open his trousers was as far as she managed before he had her pressed up against her wall and took charge of removing his clothing.

Her gasp or surprise turned quickly into a moan as she found herself being impaled by him from behind, his thrusts as desperate and determined as she was craving. His coupling was as wild and amorous this time as it had been last.

The few pictures she'd hung in her corridor were knocked off by her own hands as she grasped at the wall in an attempt to sync herself with his manic rhythm. He was gripping her hips and setting a brutal pace that had her crying out in ecstasy every time he was fully sheathed inside her. Her orgasm came over her so quickly and completely that she wasn't prepared for it. Her fist pounded the wall when it hit her.

She barely registered his growl of pleasure behind before the two of them were both left panting in recovery, his forehead resting down on her shoulder.

"You'd better not tell me that was a mistake too." She snarled at him.

He lifted his head and bit her lightly at the base of her neck, tracing it with his tongue and giving her a small slap to her butt. "You better not think I'm done with you yet." Swiftly he pulled out of her and carried her bridal style into her bedroom, effectively throwing her on the bed before shucking the rest of his clothes and climbing over her.

"Again?" She asked in anticipation and surprise.

"You brought this on yourself." His eyes gleamed darkly before his lip crashed down on hers. She'd barely enough time to respond to his kiss before he began moving south; kissing, licking and nipping at ever part of her his mouth met before it came to settle between her legs.

With her head thrown back in passion she gave her body over to him.

They say that timing is everything, but how was she to have realized that the Full Moon was only two days away, and the effect that had on his senses, or know why exactly that would have an effect on him. The fact that she was in heat certainly wasn't helping him calm down at all either.

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**AN- You were wanting more Remus/Tonks. Now you've got it.**


	23. Valentine's

**AN- This one is rather more of a filler chapter than anything else. But needed to set some things up.**

**()()**

**Chapter 23- Valentine's**

**()()()**

"Hello" Hermione greeted Ginny and Luna when she found them in the Library. "Can I join you?" She asked, already set her books down on the opposite side of the bench from them.

Luna and Ginny's friendship seemed to have gotten quite strong over the past few weeks. It made sense since their boyfriends were such good friends as well, and they had been friends before Luna started Hogwarts. It looked like their old friendship had just grown stronger in Hermione's 'absence'.

"Of course!" Ginny looked surprised to see her there.

Ginny's surprise at her being there was justified. It was true, Hermione had been spending most of her time in the dorm room as of late. She was still getting all of her studies done and assignments, but the effort she was putting into them now a days wasn't anywhere near the amount of effort she was putting into her other project.

She'd been Owling back and forth with a few different departments at the Ministry to get more information, and she was hoping that the requests were spaced out far enough between all the various departments that the people she was corresponding with weren't connecting any dots. The requests she was submitting might have seemed odd; such as requesting wizarding land title records for properties in and around Little Hangleton from the Muggle Liaison Office that dealt with potential overlap of property lines and also arrest records for Morfin Gaunt from the Wizengamot Administration Services.

Hermione wasn't done researching things from the Muggle side either.

See, she'd asked her father to assist her with her project by looking up the name Tom Riddle and any news articles related to him beginning a few years before Tom Riddle Junior would have been conceived and spanning a full twenty year's into the future. That way there might be something about his marriage to Merope, as well as anything that the Muggle's might have found to go on with the cause of death.

Now she had a wedding announcement with a photo of the groom, not one of Merope however, and the announcement of the annulment citing irreconcilable differences. Her father had also found the information about his death and its suspicious circumstances that had several articles on it since the whole family had been high society for their area.

Hermione fibbed a bit when she told her father why she needed it. She'd admitted to him that yes, it had been a wizard who had done that to them, but she claimed it was for a school project about appropriate Muggle excuses and differences in their publications. Telling her father that they had that same story in their newspaper as well in the archives at school.

"Ginny tells me that you were hoping to speak to me about a possible article?" Luna brought up, making room on the table surface for Hermione to spread out her books.

"Yes! Thank you for reminding me. And I'm sorry," She prefaced. "I feel like I have to admit this to you. The reason I was thinking about the Quibbler for this is because the type of publications your father publishes are outlandish." Hermione admitted. She'd wondered if it was even worth while admitting that to the girl, particularly since they only interacted a few times and she'd seemed just as outlandish as the publications. But she was also Neville's girlfriend, to Hermione that meant that Luna was someone she would be able to be open and honest with.

"Oh, I don't mind you saying that. Everyone is welcome to their own opinions. I know you wouldn't simply say mean things about it to people about it at random." Luna told her easily. "Is your article 'outlandish'?" She asked.

"Um. No?" She wasn't sure to be honest. It was an amazing tale, but a true tale. The search for as yet unconfirmed creatures of substantial size with magical properties like what the Quibbler does carry stories about, those stories were outlandish. Her story could actually be verified. "It's entirely true. But I was wanting to turn it into a series piece. It is just that I have it reading like a fabricated story, and have it ending with a grand reveal." Hermione told her quietly.

"You decided then?" Ginny asked.

Hermione nodded. Last they properly spoke about it she wasn't sure how she was going to approach it. A proper book, a point of fact feature or the manner she'd decided to run with which read as a series of short stories. It was suspenseful, it was informative and she really hoped that it would generate enough interest if told this way.

"Father is always interested in new pieces for his magazine." Luna confirmed, sounding sure of herself. "I am sure he would be happy to give your story a look over. You don't really need me to be a go between for it."

"Well." Hermione started, "I couldn't help but look over some of the more recent issues and found that they read rather better than the issues we had been given from your archive." She hadn't been able to help it. If she was looking to publish something there because it would be the easiest way to get her crazy but true story in there, then she had reasoned that perhaps not everything in there was crazy make believe and wanted to give the publication another chance. "And I noticed that you had a hand in editing some of the articles."

"Yes." Luna stated, staring at her blankly with a soft smile on her face.

Ginny beside her had some red coming to her cheeks as she stifled her laughter. She at least had heard the question in Hermione's statement.

Hermione herself thought it best to simply move past that and ask out right. "I was hoping that once my story is done that you would look over it and edit it?"

"Oh, I'd love to." Luna told her sincerely. "Are you nearly done? As I understand it you've been working on this since November when Ginny asked for the Quibbler's from the last war." Her intense, yet somehow vacant, stare was something Hermione wondered if she'd ever get used to. It was like she was acting as a human lie detector test.

"I'm still collecting a few more facts, but I've done up a timeline of events. Trying to get my head around how to come at it all from the story angle." She told them both. "The beginning of the first part starts out like a fairy tale. Well, the beginning of the second one does too." She mentioned off hand. Her first part was going to be about Merope, the second was going to sound like Oliver Twist because it was about Tom at the Orphanage. Except a dark Oliver Twist. "I'm having some trouble actually." Hermione admitted to them both. "I feel like I'm... sympathizing." She turned to Luna specifically. "How much do you know about what my story is about?"

"I have my assumptions based on what material you had been collecting." She told her plainly.

"So then, you know it's about... Him." Hermione stressed.

"But isn't that something that you are going to be revealing later?" Ginny asked. "So, you should be painting the picture however your emotions guide you to." She suggested.

"If you are writing about someone when they are a child, then it should be reading like they are a child as well." Luna agreed. "Children are innocent. They make mistakes, yes, but it is how they learn. Perhaps simply tell how this child didn't learn."

Hermione nodded. It would be a good idea to write with her emotions about the subject as though it was simply a child that lived in an orphanage. That approach could help fuel her forward. She just needed to keep those emotions in check when she was switching over to her schoolwork, which was the reason she'd coming into the library in the first place and now she'd been sidetracked by her project again.

"Have you seen Harry and Neville around?" Hermione asked pulling her parchment out and setting it on the table. She hadn't seen them since before lunch due to their alternate schedules. She hadn't seen them much at all lately because of her Tom Riddle obsession. And yes, she was admitting it was becoming a bit of an obsession.

"They're probably panicking over Valentine's Day being so close and having forgot about it until this morning." Luna told her as she continued reading through her textbook.

Hermione frowned. It was near the middle of February? They were halfway to Easter break already! She couldn't help letting out a sigh. Yet another Valentine's was coming and going without someone of her own to share it with. Not something that had bothered her before, but it was now.

It hadn't escaped her how Ron was now properly in a relationship with Lavender, nor how Lavender had mentioned a few things in their dorm room about him. She'd been gossiping with Parvati at the time, but it was with in her earshot. She hadn't needed to hear what they'd gotten up to in different empty classrooms and alcoves, and it did upset her to hear it. Even if she had tried to move on and tell herself that they were wrong for each other, she missed him.

It might have been the bit of distance they were keeping between themselves right now, but she'd been thinking back over their relationship and growing wistful about it. She'd liked how when they were together he would silently nudge her out of her studies every now and then, or simply place kisses on her neck or cheek when he couldn't get her attention. And she'd liked how he'd looked at her. Even Victor hadn't looked at her like that, like she was the only girl he wanted to be looking at. And she missed how he'd held her when they kissed.

She shook her head. No point wishing she could change the past.

"So, they are all freaking out and ordering flowers from Hogsmeade?" She forced a chuckle.

"I hope not." Luna said. "I'd much rather a potted plant than a bouquet of flowers, at least that way the plant doesn't suffer."

"But the plant doesn't die when the flower is clipped off." Ginny reasoned. "Simply the flower itself doesn't stay alive as long."

"I'd still rather something that has the ability to continue blooming and thriving longer than a week."

Hermione granted that Luna had a point, but she still would have appreciated any kind of gesture.

()()()

The pressure was on.

Harry, Neville and Ron were feeling it. They only had two days after all, and it had almost completely slipped their minds.

Slowly the girls around the school had gotten a little gigglier and whispering amongst themselves slightly more. Lavender especially. Luna and Ginny not so much, but Harry had seen a teasing glint in Ginny's eye when he'd finally realized he was duty bound to do something to acknowledge the day. And it wasn't like he didn't want to, he'd just never had to think about this 'holiday' before. So he'd forgotten about it.

Because it wasn't a real holiday.

Neville was lucky when it came to all this, Luna would just outright tell him her expectations. Poor Ron was expected to guess at what it was he was meant to do, but he knew it had to be something that drew attention to her. Harry though. He wanted to do something for Ginny, but he didn't think she wanted a lot of attention brought to her. She'd be too down to earth about that. From that earlier look in her eye she wasn't expecting him to be a lovey-dovey about it. She'd probably have appreciated something cheesy, or a joke product.

That was what this brainstorming session was all about in the boy's dorm.

It was Operation Valentine's Day.

For Harry and Neville these were the first girlfriends they'd ever had, and they cared about them immensely. Ron on the other hand didn't feel as strongly about Lavender, but he liked her enough that he wanted to at least attempt to meet her expectations.

"Alright." Ron started. "So, Valentine's Day is all about hearts and candy and jewelry, right?" He asked rhetorically. "I'm pretty sure I can get away with sending Lavender some flowers and chocolate." He reasoned.

"Yeah." Harry started slowly. "But you should probably draw it out."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked him dumbly.

"Well, like, you should space it out over breakfast, lunch and dinner." He shrugged. "Give her a flower with breakfast and some sappy card or something. Then give her a few more flowers at lunch, then another few flowers at dinner with a box of chocolates."

Ron's eyes lit up at that. "Yeah. Yeah, she'd go all gushy over that!" He seemed really happy with the idea.

"No kidding." Neville scoffed from where he was sitting on the floor between Harry's and Ron's bed. "She'll be expecting you down on one knee by the end of the day."

Ron paled at that. "What?"

"No, she won't." Harry threw a balled-up piece of parchment at Neville for scaring their friend.

"You don't think." Ron continued to look panicked.

"No." Harry assured him. "You guys have been going out for a month. There's no way. Have you ever indicated anything of the sort even slightly?" Harry knew for sure Ron wouldn't have, he wasn't so sure what Lavender had been reading from Ron's words and gestures over the past month however. Not that Harry was going to say anything like that to Ron though.

"I don't think it'll matter." Neville continued with a scoff, still looking down at the catalog in his hands. The wad of paper Harry threw hadn't given him the hint to stay quiet. "She was a sappy romantic before you two got together, now that you've been official for a while it's like she thinks that two of you are 'meant to be' and wanting you to act accordingly." Neville still hadn't looked up to realize the effect his vocalized version of Lavender was panicking his friend. "She's easily going to think that you're head over heels for her if you do that much for her. Then we'll have to hear about it all the time. And when you break up, she'd going to get even more psycho." He droned on while flipping a page.

"Neville!" Harry cut him off loudly, gesturing so his friend's attention would be drawn to Ron's now completely stricken face.

"Uh. I mean. Maybe just get her one flower and a card or something." Neville offered, trying to make light of his mistake.

Harry didn't want to have been the one to say it, but Neville's description was pretty accurate. If Ron did play the day out like Harry had suggested there was a very real possibility that Lavender would think Ron was professing his love for her. And Ron was absolutely not in love with her, he was just enjoying... her company.

Harry hadn't been giving enough thought of the recipient when he suggested that. He'd thought it might have been an option for him to do for Ginny if he was trying to take it seriously, but Ginny didn't really come off as the hearts and flowers type of girl. That was too bad too. He'd had the hardest time finding her a Christmas present, and he really wanted to do something perfect for her for their first Valentine's Day as well but spreading out a bouquet of flowers over the space of the day just didn't feel right for her.

"What about for Luna?" Harry asked. Luna was a different type of girl too. Flowers would probably be alright with her, but only if they were really strange and held some kind of meaning behind them.

Neville had a book out in front of him and had been consulting it. "I was thinking something like this." He flipped the book around and showed it to Harry.

The book was Newt Scamander's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them, it was open to the page for a Puffskein. They were small animals covered in soft fur and spherical in shape. They were scavenger animals that would eat insects and their fur was used for making laughing potions. They were cute though.

"You want to get her a pet?" Harry asked surprised.

"Yeah. I think she'd like it. She can easily take it with her when she goes travelling with her dad. And she'd mentioned that sometimes when they go camping on their travels, she doesn't like the bugs and such she's had to put up with. I think she'll love it." He sounded proud of himself.

Harry had to admit, that would be perfect for Luna. And practical as well. "Great. So, it's just me at a complete loss." He pouted. "Come on Ron, you know her best. What should I do?"

Ron had managed to shrug off his horror at what Neville had said and had taken the book to check out the Puffskein. "I don't know mate. She like's Quidditch."

"Thanks." Harry deadpanned. "That's so helpful."

"Think she'd like a Puffskein?" Neville asked optimistically.

"I don't really want to get her a pet." Harry shook his head. He took the book back from Ron and kept flipping through Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them absentmindedly as he thought over potential gestures he could make. She didn't like 'things', this was _exactly_ the same problem he had a month and a half ago. "Maybe I should just stock up her snack compartment in her trunk." He suggested. Sending in an order to Honeydukes would be easy enough. He knew she had a stash of treats in her trunk so she'd have something sweet to munch on while she was studying.

"Oh!" Ron sat up straight. "She loves those Muggle biscuits! What are they called?" His brow knit together. "Nob-something. They've got chocolate on them."

"Hob Nobs?" Harry asked.

"Yeah! That's the one's." Ron said excitedly. "I bet you could get Sirius to send you a bunch of those. Ginny'd be over the moon about it."

"Perfect!" Harry exclaimed. It was a small gesture, but not easily obtainable and she wouldn't chastise him for spending too much on her. He went to his desk right away to send off the request for them to Sirius. There was just enough time between then and now for his Godfather to get to a Muggle grocers and send them back to the castle.

()()

Sirius was in a predicament much the same as the three Gryffindor boys.

Except that he was a grown man in a mature relationship with a woman he'd been seeing regularly outside the confines of a castle and had a whole world of possibilities as to things he could do for and give his paramour.

He chuckled when he received a request from Harry for Hob Nobs, the reason why tripped him up though.

Valentine's Day.

He'd completely forgotten about it.

Amelia didn't really seem like a gushing schoolgirl type to him, so he'd decided pretty quickly that he was simply going to invite her to dinner at his and cook something up for her himself and give her some flowers. Perhaps sending her an Owl in the morning with a card and some flowers as well.

Her office didn't yet know about their relationship, but he wanted them to at least know she had someone.

Sirius had been thinking about their relationship lately too. They had a few secrets from each other, they always would considering her job. But they'd been spending nearly every weekend together and met up at least once during the week. And their time together was comfortable. The sex was certainly nice. He just didn't know if it was going to last forever, and he got the impression she was in the same boat.

They'd been together for near three months and he knew he wasn't in love with her, but he wasn't ready to break it off with her either. All in all, he'd simply come to the conclusion that if she decided they were over, then he'd be okay with that. He would really like to remain friends with her though. Her company he really enjoyed having, sex or no sex.

All of this was brought about when he'd had a visit with his best mate a week previously.

Sirius had checked in on Remus after the Full Moon and his friend was in high spirits. He looked just as happy as when they'd had that first night together again, when they were getting drunk in his sitting room. And Sirius knew why as well.

It was Dora Tonks.

Apparently, his little cousin had worn the old Werewolf down in record time. Remus had told him that they'd gotten into it after she'd talked to his classes about the Shadow Program and that was it for him. He still hadn't told her about his condition but thought she might be receptive to it once they were further along in their relationship and he was more comfortable telling her.

Sirius was happy for him. Remus had had so few women in his life, and none that made him seem as vibrant as he had looked when he relayed the news. The two new love birds had been exchanging Owls almost daily and meeting up in Hogsmeade for dinners as often as their schedules allowed.

It was that that made Sirius take a look at his own relationship and realize that he'd never been that head over heels for Amelia. They'd shared an attraction for each other and acted on it. That was it.

Sirius hadn't understood how his James could have been so completely smitten for Lily for six bloody years before they'd gotten together. It had been an attraction that ran deep in his best friend. And their's had been a relationship where everyone knew that they were going to make it. It was almost as soon as Lily finally admitted to returning his affections that they couldn't not be touching, or kissing, or even just looking at each other.

He couldn't imagine being in a couple like that. It must feel wonderful.

Sirius hoped he'd be a part of a relationship like that one day.

In the meantime.

Sirius got up from his breakfast table and pulled on his 'Muggle' jacket, the one that had his muggle wallet in it. He would need to go to a Waitrose or something to get Hob Nobs and flowers. They'd probably give him some inspiration for a special dish he could cook for Amelia as well.

They might not have a forever relationship, but she still deserved to be treated right.

()()()

Hermione was jolted awake on the Friday morning that the couple's holiday fell on by a squeal of joy coming from the other side of the dorm room.

Lavender had received something from her boyfriend and felt the need to share it with the world.

Hermione groaned as quietly as she could manage and pulled herself out of bed. Pulling back her drapes she was there was a sense of comradery between she and Ginny as her friend rolled her eyes at her over the exuberance from Lavender. It looked like Ginny had been awoken by the same noise.

Slogging through her morning routine she hoped that the Lavender and Parvati would have gone down to breakfast by the time she was out of the bathroom. She took her time in the shower and attempting to do something to tame down her hair before pulling it back in a ponytail.

Mercifully the girls were all gone by the time she'd gone back into the dorm. She went to her dresser as there was a tap at the window. With a building resentment she went to open it up and the owl flew through the room coming to perch on her desk chair with a small box tied to its leg.

Hermione's shoulders sagged as she untied the box and gave the owl a few treats before it flew out the window again.

Looking at the box she flipped up the card to find out who the gift was supposed to go to so she could dump it on their bed, allowing herself to be bitter about it in the privacy she currently had.

Her name was written on it though.

She stared at it in disbelief. She couldn't think of anyone that would send her something today.

With an indulgent smile on her face she opened the box and found a delicate mini bouquet, small enough that it could have been for a boutonniere. Another card was inside the box; Heather for Admiration, Aster for Patience and Amaryllis for Splendid Beauty.

She took out the card and the flowers looking back and forth between the two at a loss for words. She'd been sent flowers on Valentine's Day. Flower's with their meaning written out on a card and no further explanation.

Feeling suddenly much better about this made up holiday she conjured a vase to set her flowers in and grabbed her bag before heading downstairs to breakfast.

()()

Ginny was enjoying her breakfast as she watched all the girls that were in a relationship gush over what their boyfriends had gotten them. It was interesting to her to watch the faces of the boyfriends in particular. The girls would all just smile prettily and blush or gush, but the boys, well they had all kinds of different emotions showing on their faces.

Neville was looking at Luna adoringly as she thanked him for her Puffskein. Initially Ginny was confused by the gift, but his explanation for it was so practical, and the little creature was so cute. He had put a lot of thought into getting that for her.

Ron seemed to have chosen correctly for his girlfriend too, though he looked more pained than pleased with the whole deal. It wasn't that hard to please Lavender it seemed. The card and chocolates that had been delivered to their dorm room was just the start as he'd also handed her a single yellow rose. She had to wonder if he'd chosen the color yellow knowing that it meant friendship. He'd told Lavender that it was because everyone else would be getting red roses, and she should have something that stood out.

Ginny highly doubted that.

She hadn't seen Harry yet though, and she had something for him. Something cheesy that she hoped would make him laugh.

Hermione came and sat across from her looking rather pleased.

"What's going on with you?" Ginny asked, a smile coming to her face. Hermione hadn't been too pleased with the wake up they'd gotten than morning.

Hermione's eyes darted around to see if anyone might be listening in before she leaned forward. "Someone sent me something." She whispered.

Ginny's eyes lit up in interest. "Really?" She asked excitedly. "What is it? Who was it from?"

"I don't know who sent it." She blushed, but Ginny saw her eyes dart over to Ron with an almost hopeful glint to them. "It was something small, but there was a card with the meaning behind it attached."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked confused. She was picturing a bracelet or something with a book charm on it.

"It was a few sprigs of different flowers. Each flower holds a different meaning. You'll see it on my nightstand later." She was almost vibrating with pleasure.

Ginny thought that was adorable. Her friend was so pleased by it, receiving a secret admirer's valentine. Hermione had been so busy lately and Ginny was hoping she would come down from her craziness and enjoy herself a little bit. Having a secret admirer might help her act more like the teenage girl she was supposed to be. It looked good on her. This blush she was sporting reminded Ginny of when they'd just met and Ron had been giving her all his attention.

"Any ideas on who it might be from?" She asked with an eyebrow waggle. "Or anyone you might be wanting it to be from?"

"Well." Hermione's blush deepened, but she didn't give a name, nor lift her eyes from her breakfast. She didn't answer however.

"Alright. Keep your secrets for now. I'll pry it out of you later." Ginny allowed. She was distracted then anyways by the sight of her boyfriend coming into the Great Hall.

He gave her a big smile and made his way over to her. "Sorry I'm late." He kissed her cheek. "I was waiting for Hedwig."

"Oh?" She asked with intrigue. "Did she bring you anything pretty?"

"Well, she herself is a pretty bird, but I believe this is actually for you." He handed her the box he'd been carrying.

Ginny gave a mock gasp. "Oh. You shouldn't have." She teased and opened the box, her eyes going wide and her grin large. "Oh Merlin!" She laughed. "That's fantastic!" She pulled out one of the packets of biscuits. "These are my favorite. How did you." She looked up at Harry and realized how he would have known. "Ron told you."

"That he did." Harry beamed. "Thought you might like those more than flowers."

"You really do know the way to my heart." She feigned a love-sick voice.

"Through your stomach." He nodded decisively. "I suspect it's the same with all the Weasley's." He leaned over and gave her another kiss then started making himself a plate of breakfast looking proud of himself.

"Hob Nob's?" Hermione asked from the other side of the table when Ginny showed her what it was. Her tone relaying her feelings about receiving a packet of cookies for a present.

"Six packs of Hob Nobs." Ginny clarified. "And they're the ones with chocolate on top." She turned back to Harry. "Thank you. I love it." She gave him another kiss before digging in her bag. "And now I have something for you." She was so relieved he didn't get her something over the top like he had with her Christmas present. Honestly, the cookies were the perfect gift for her.

Finding what she was rooting around for in the bottom of her bag she pulled it out for him. "For you!" She handed it over with a flourish. The wrapping on it was a little crumpled from it being in the bottom of her bag for about a week, but when she'd come up with the idea to get it for him as a joke it had been at the end of January and she'd wanted to make sure that it showed up in time.

Harry started ripping off the wrapping paper and unfurled the t-shirt. It was a casual shirt that looked just like his Gryffindor jersey, but there was a little something extra added on the back.

"Thanks' Gin." He smiled and turned it over to see his number displayed prominently then started laughing when he saw the block letters at the bottom reading 'Property of Ginny Weasley'. His laughter rang out loudly and she felt even more proud of herself. He leaned over and gave her a kiss to her cheek. "I'll wear it all the time." He promised.

"What is it?" Hermione asked and Harry held it up for her to see. She gave a chuckle.

"You don't have to actually wear it in public." Ginny assured him. "I just thought it would be funny."

"Oh, I'm wearing it." He assured her and started taking his button down and tie off right then.

"Harry!" Hermione and Ginny called him out at the same time.

"What? It isn't like I don't have another undershirt on." He told them unabashed and pulled the shirt on over his head, over top of his other undershirt. "Fits perfectly." He gave Ginny another kiss and shoved his uniform top and tie into his bag.

It was a Friday and they all still had class today. He was going to have to put his button down back on for class, but Ginny was rather pleased with how he'd whole heartedly entertained her gift like that.

"Whipped much, Potter?" Malfoy called from the table behind them.

Harry ignored the jab and shifted closer to her. "Yeah I am." He whispered in her ear.

Ginny gave him another kiss. "Think we can manage to get the Room of Requirement to provide us dinner later?" She asked quietly, her eyes sparkling.

"That was the plan I had in mind." He pulled back slightly and grasped her hand, giving it a squeeze and tracing her fingers. "Make sure you don't eat all those biscuits this afternoon." He grinned.

"No promises, but I'll try to refrain." She winked.

"Urgh, you two." Hermione scoffed and tried to put her focus back on her meal.

Ginny shook her head at Hermione, knowing the girl would be just as dorky as the two of them were being if she had her secret admirer there beside her. Not wanting to make her any more uncomfortable though she started talking about their next class so her friend wouldn't be stuck staring at the two of them being all 'couple-y'.

The rest of the day passed with more heart shaped boxes of chocolates and flowers being delivered during lunch and a good mixture of gushing and crying girls in the corridors.

By dinner time Ginny was ready to be away from it all and alone in a quiet space with Harry.

Their dinner plans were dashed however when they approached the Seventh floor and caught sight of two people making their way into the Room of Requirement right before the door closed and vanished.

"Damn." Harry exclaimed. "Guess that changes that."

"What that Professor Lupin?" Ginny asked with genuine interest. He'd been seeming in rather good spirits lately; she hadn't thought too much about it though. That had certainly been a woman going in there with him and she must have been the reason for the high spirits.

"Yeah." Harry was rather disappointed that his plans had been dashed. "I'm pretty sure he's seeing Tonks, or Dora. And has been since she came to talk to us all. Glad he's happy, but couldn't they have gone to Hogsmeade?"

"You mean with all the other couples that are currently filling the tables at the Three Broomsticks and the like?" Ginny challenged. There was a planned Hogsmeade visit for the next day, but they'd decided they'd just go down and pick up supplies and go for a stroll so they didn't have to deal with how busy the pubs and tea rooms would be.

Harry sighed. "Yeah. But still." He was pouting.

"Hey." Ginny tucked herself up against his front. "Buck up soldier. Why don't we just go down to the kitchens? Maybe we can get something to go and find an empty classroom or something?"

"Yeah. Alright." He still sounded rather morose about it. "Guess I was just looking forward to creating an intimate setting for us." He tucked a lock of her hair over her ear and gave her a quick kiss.

They made their way down to the kitchens and managed to get a few goodies from the elves before checking a few classrooms for a private space all to themselves.

Unfortunately Harry hadn't thought to bring along his fathers map since he'd had the Room of Requirement plan. As they wandered looking for a secluded spot it looked like several couples had the same idea they did. Each classroom they's stopped for a listen at the door of, or poked their head into already had one or two couples, including a classroom by the Divination tower Lavender and Ron who'd been getting into a row in.

"Why would you say that to me?!" Lavender yelled. Harry had his hand poised over the knob on the door as her voice rang through clearly.

"I didn't. I mean. I just wanted you to know." Ron tried to explain.

Harry and Ginny were just outside of the classroom staring at each other and essentially daring the other with their eyes to suggest that they leave first. Ginny wasn't big on spreading gossip, but that didn't mean she didn't want to listen to it. This was her brother and his girlfriend too, she could argue that if it concerned Ron, then it concerned her. Particularly when it also concerned a girl she slept eight feet from as well.

"Well maybe I didn't want to know! Maybe today OF ALL DAYS was not the day to tell me." Lavender continued angrily.

"I thought that today of all days would be the best day to tell you." Ron was trying to reason.

"WHY?" She screeched.

"Well, you had expectations. And I'm just don't think I'm as invested in all this as you want me to be. But I didn't want you to misinterpret my gifts."

Ginny cringed. Her face must have resembled having just sucked on a lemon. Telling a girl on Valentine's day that you didn't like her as much as she liked you was certainly a mood killer. Possibly a relationship killer.

"Are you breaking up with me?" Her tears could be heard through the door and Ginny saw how uncomfortable Harry was getting. She took his hand and guided them away from the door.

They heard Ron telling her that wasn't the case, but he may as well have been saying that.

"Honestly." Harry started once they were far enough away from the room. "I'm surprised they've lasted as long as they have."

"I know." Ginny nodded her head. "I feel kind of bad for Lavender though."

Harry nodded then looked around. "We're near the Divination classroom." He started. "There's some nice seating and candles in there." He grinned with a wink.

"And a batty professor." Ginny told him quietly, concerned that their voices might carry.

"I saw her leave the castle earlier." He told her equally as quiet with a smirk.

"Then I'm in."

He guided her towards the ladder and opened the trap door for them after a quick scan of the area.

She'd never seen the Divination classroom. There was an excess of comfortable seating for them to choose from, and it was nice and warm in there. Harry gathered some candles from a shelf nearby and charmed them to float around them.

"There." He said. "This is as close as I think we're going to get to what I had in mind."

Ginny grinned up at him from where she was seated on her pouf. "Why don't you come down here with me and I'll show you what I had in mind."

**()()**

**AN- Warned you at the top. Fluff chapter**


	24. The Basilisk

**()()()**

**Chapter 24- The Basilisk**

**()()()**

"It can't be that simple." Sirius stated.

"No. Of course, it can't be that simple. None of this is simple. I'm just saying it's an option to look into." Remus rolled his eyes. He'd been working on this for months now and had just relayed one option. There was only a small amount of a slur in his voice. Sirius had only managed to get this one option possibility out of him because of the several fingers of scotch that had been poured for him.

"But. So, say we do get one in a room with the things." Sirius squinted at him in thought. "Wouldn't it need some kind of encouragement to actually, you know." He made a slurping noise and swallowed.

"Oh, how eloquent." Remus remarked, and couldn't fight the smile from coming to his face. "It wouldn't even be that simple. Say it does get the pieces of soul out. Then what?"

"Yeah." Sirius tapped his chin. His eyes were glassy, but he always could hold his liquor. The several years of abstaining didn't seem to have altered that ability. "Yeah, because then they'd just be sort of residing in it, not destroyed."

It was exactly that that had made Remus think it wouldn't work. They would have to kill the Dementor after, and he wasn't sure that was possible, nor moral. They'd already sacrificed a poor Niffler. Though, killing a Dementor wouldn't be as heart wrenching as killing an innocent creature like a Niffler. Then again, there was also very little chance a Niffler army was going to come after then and avenge their fallen brother. Who knows what a band of Dementors would do if they intentionally killed one of them off.

Neither of the men seemed sure just how ascensioned a Dementor was either. Thus, if they should feel bad about this being a potential option.

"They're drawn to happy feelings too. I can't see these soul fragments appealing to their interest." Remus commented.

Sirius let out a shudder. He'd had the most interaction with the beings. Clearly, he wasn't reveling in the idea of facing one again. "Couldn't we just track down some Basilisk Venom?"

Remus let out a snort. "Sure, I'll just call up the local Apothecary and check with them, yeah?" He joked.

Basilisk Venom was incredibly rare, thus incredibly expensive. The only chance they would have of coming across some was if it was fake, and even then it would cost half of Sirius' vault to pay for it.

Sirius didn't take the scoff to heart. He had been doing his own research in the library as well to try and come up with some kind of solution. The Black library was full of books on the darkest sort of magic. Usually the books had pleasantly boring titles written on the spines so it wouldn't be obvious to anyone perusing the shelves. He hadn't been able to find anything about transferring a Horcrux though.

Yet anyways.

He didn't have too much to do with his days, but he was still a bit of a slacker and hadn't thrown his all into reading through every one of the books. He'd always needed Remus' motivation to get him going in school. Remus had been coming over for a few hours on the weekends lately to check through the Black library himself, which was where they were now.

"How much longer do you think it will be before Albus decides that killing the Horcruxes is more important than preserving the previously thought lost relics?" Sirius asked. He was rather close to taking the items from his vault and attempting to use Fiendfyre on them himself. He could get replicas made of the items, what would it matter anyways. They were clearly just going to be stuck behind a glass display case for some thief to attempt to steal later. Having them be fakes would just save the worry down the line.

Remus pursed his lips and gave Sirius a look. "If they can be stored in a vessel, then there must be a way to transfer them."

Sirius shook his head in agitation. "Right, well I have to wonder, even if we do manage to pull the Horcrux out, what if it just latches itself onto the closest thing nearby? You've seen what it looks like when it gets destroyed. I'm not all too keen to see what it looks like when it is its own entity just appearing before us."

Remus considered him for a moment. "It latching onto the closest thing it comes in contact with is a real possibility."

"Then we should destroy the bloody things as they are. I don't give a fuck about the pricelessness of ancient relics." He argued. "What if it latched onto a person?" He worried. "I'm not killing you or Albus."

"I appreciate that." Remus smirked then let out a long sigh. "So that crosses Dementor's off the list of potential ways of destroying them. I doubt we'd be able to track down the answers to these questions or get a Dementor interested in a Horcrux in the first place."

"Back to the drawing board then." Sirius muttered.

()()

"I just don't remember being that small." Ron laughed as he sat back against the couch. He'd been regaling a story about the third years Care of Magical Creatures class he'd witnessed the previous day while the others were in Potions class. One of the third years had literally gone running back to the school after Hagrid had told them about Thestrals. It seemed one of the Thestrals nearby nudged the third-year boy, and he hadn't been able to see it.

Ginny and Harry were chuckling appreciatively at the story as they sat cuddled together on the opposite end of the couch. They were all fairly wiped after their Quidditch practice and were pushing their homework obligations until after dinner time.

In the meantime, Ginny was content to recuperate sitting in Harry's lap and nuzzling into his neck every now and then.

Ron was in a pretty good mood lately considering Lavender had ditched him after his Valentine's Day confession to her. He'd taken it in stride with barely more than a shrug of his shoulder. He'd actually said it was too bad he hadn't told her a few days earlier so he could have saved the money he'd spent on her.

Emotional range of a teaspoon that one.

At least when it came to Lavender. When it had been Hermione, well that had been a difficult one to watch. Clearly Ron really hadn't cared about Lavender beyond whether or not she'd let him get a hand up her skirt. And Ginny wasn't sure her dorm mate had let him go that far, nor did she want to.

Ginny heard the portrait hole open and looked over to see Hermione come through and search the room with her eyes until they landed on the couch they were all occupying. Her eyes lit up with excitement and she bee lined her way over to them sitting down in the middle of the coffee table and shaking with nervous excitement.

"I figured out how she died." Hermione leaned forward to whisper to Ginny.

Ginny had to stifle a laugh at the look on Hermione's face as she said it; coupled with what she'd said it made her look deranged. But Ginny quickly realized what she was talking about and her initial humor gave way for intense interest. She slid off Harry's lap and leaned forward. "And?" She asked breathlessly.

"Who is the 'she'?" Harry asked with mock intensity. Ron too had leaned forward.

Both the girls turned their heads to look at the boys before resting their eyes only on each other's and having a silent consultation.

In Ginny's opinion this was all up to Hermione. She'd simply been the sounding board for her, all her theories and rants had she'd felt needed to be voiced to someone. Ginny was that someone for Hermione, and she wasn't going to betray her trust, not even to Harry, whom she'd also been the sounding board for when it came to the exact same subject. Ginny held both of them dear to her, and even though both would benefit from being each other's sounding board about this, and she had said such, she knew it wasn't up to her.

The waver in Hermione's expression was met with a hard glare from Ginny. She'd piqued their interest now. She could have just grabbed Ginny and hauled her up the stairs to their dorm, but she hadn't. And Hermione didn't make mistakes like that.

"Alright." Hermione caved easily.

Ginny allowed herself a self-indulgent smile. One less thing she had to keep to herself. "Not here though." She told her. "Let's go to that empty classroom." She meant the one they'd been doing their Daily Prophet and Quibbler reading in.

"Where's Neville?" Hermione asked, looking around again.

"With Luna." Ron answered. "Probably in the Greenhouses again."

Hermione sighed. "Fine, we'll tell him later." She led the way to the room and put up a silencing charm. "It's about Moaning Myrtle."

Ron snickered at the name and Ginny gave him a weak whack to the arm.

"She haunts the girl's toilet on the second floor." Hermione continued without concern for Ron's reaction. "Does he know?" Hermione directed the question at Harry and nodding at Ron. "About Tom Riddle?"

The three of them turned to face Ron who looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"No." Harry admitted.

Ginny bit her lip. Ron and Neville had both not been told and that felt wrong all of a sudden. The two of them had helped with all the newspapers. It hadn't been quite fair to keep that from them. Then again, the two boys didn't seem entirely interested in all of Hermione's continued research.

"It's You-Know-Who's real name." Ginny told him.

"Ginny." Hermione scolded.

"Cut it out Hermione. If you're going to tell us something involving Tom, then you wouldn't have invited Ron if you didn't want him to know. Just like you wouldn't have said anything about Myrtle in front of Harry and Ron if you didn't want them to know that."

A faint blush came to Hermione's cheeks on her calling out. "Alright." She breathed out.

"What's Tom Riddle got to do with a ghost in the girl's toilet?" Harry asked.

"He's the reason she's there." Hermione told him heavily.

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked in reflex, knowing it was a stupid question immediately. She couldn't help the question from flying out of her mouth. It was rhetorical of course; Hermione wouldn't have said such a thing without knowing for sure.

"Can you fill the two of us in?" Harry asked, meaning he and Ron. "How, When, Why?"

"Okay. So, Myrtle was killed in 1943 in the girl's toilets. Her body was the final straw after there had been several attacks on students, mostly Muggleborns. They'd all been found petrified until that point. The school was going to close, but then _Tom Riddle_." She made a face at the name. "He pinned it all on H-, um, a student." She corrected herself. "Who had been keeping a dangerous creature in the school. That student was expelled, and Tom Riddle received a Special Services award."

"What was the creature?" Ron asked. "The one that the expelled student had kept?"

"An Acromantula." Hermione told him.

Ginny caught how Ron tensed up at that. He was terrified of spiders.

"But an Acromantula couldn't have killed her the way she remembers dying." Hermione continued. "However, since the attacks all stopped after that I guess no one looked into the matter further."

"Not even Dumbledore?" Harry asked. "Not even after all this time? He knows who Tom Riddle is, he had to have at least exonerated the student."

"He did." Hermione told him sadly and braced herself. "Harry. The student that got blamed was Hagrid."

Ginny sucked in a breath and turned to Harry. He'd told her about how Hagrid had been the one to introduce him to this world. How he'd essentially been his first friend. He'd given him his first Christmas present.

Understandably, Harry looked shell shocked. "He." Harry started, but he didn't seem able to say anymore.

"Tom Riddle was the reason he'd been sent to Azkaban and couldn't finish his education." Hermione explained. "He'd had it all pinned on him. Dumbledore managed to free him from Azkaban but wasn't able to get him allowed back as a student."

Ginny clasped her hand in Harry's to offer some emotional support. She liked Hagrid, but she didn't know him as well as Harry. He'd brought her down to his hut for tea a few times and she could see how much Hagrid cared about Harry as well. He was an enormous teddy bear. One that saw the good side of every type of dangerous creature out there. Probably because he himself was seen as dangerous, and gave the appearance of it as well, but he had the best heart.

"What was it that actually killed her?" Ginny asked Hermione.

"Okay." Hermione prefaced. "We know that he was descended from a line of Parselmouths, yes?" She asked.

Harry and Ginny nodded, Ron looked startled, but did no more than blink at her.

"And we know that he was looking through the castle for secrets and such? Something special from his mother's side of the family. Something that made him feel more important."

"Like what?" Ginny asked in confusion. "A snake that can kill people with its- Oh!" Her hand flew to her mouth. She had heard of a snake that could kill with only it's eyes. "No!" She asked in astonishment.

Hermione's eyes went wide in acknowledgment and she pursed her lips as she nodded. "So, you see how I drew this conclusion."

Ginny let go of Harry's hand and stepped forward. "You think there's one in the school? How could there be? After all these years. One of them supposedly hasn't been seen in centuries."

"Supposedly is the right word it would seem." Hermione told her.

"Uh. Guys?" Ron interjected. "Hello." He wanted to be clued in.

"Have you two heard of a Basilisk?" Hermione asked importantly.

The boys looked at each other, both at a loss.

Hermione pulled a book out of her bag and handed it to Harry. Ron moved over to read over his shoulder. It was their Fantastic Beasts book, but though both boys had been taking the class, neither read through the text for anything other than their assignments though.

_"Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wonderous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it."_

"So, the thing can be killed by sticking it in the same room as a rooster?" Ron asked dubiously. "Seems like an easy way to ward the school against them."

"Yeah." Harry agreed. "Why didn't they just do that when people started getting petrified?"

"Well, I'd assume that they hadn't considered that it was a Basilisk. They hadn't been seen since the 16th century." Hermione exasperated. "But given what we know now, I'm pretty sure there is still a Basilisk somewhere around the castle. And I'm pretty sure that if we search the second-floor girls' toilet we'll find a clue as to where."

"Hold on." Ginny held up a hand. "What exactly did Myrtle say about her death?"

Hermione took her book back from Harry and stashed it in her bag. "She said that she'd been in the girl's toilet and heard someone come in. Then there was a distinctively male voice that made a hissing noise. When she came out of the stall to see who it was, she saw two great yellow eyes, then the next thing she knew she was a ghost and haunting Olive Hornby for a decade or so."

"Who'd Olive Hornby?" Harry asked curiously.

"Her school bully." Ginny replied, not taking her eyes off Hermione.

"Huh." He replied. "And now you want to go hunting for a Basilisk." He asked Hermione directly.

"No." She rolled her eyes. "I just want to do a little reconnaissance and see if there is anything special about the second-floor girls' toilet."

"To find the lair of a Basilisk." Harry finished.

"You are not bloody looking for a Basilisk." Ron told her incredulously.

"I never said I was looking for it. I'm looking for where it MIGHT be." She told him haughtily. "I hardly doubt that even if I do find where the entrance to the lair is that it would be just accessible to anyone. You'd more than likely need to be a Parselmouth to open it. Do you see any Parselmouth's around here?" She bit.

Ginny's eyes locked on Harry's at that.

"What." Hermione caught their interaction.

"What?" Ginny asked her back innocently.

"What was that look?" She asked the both of them.

"Nothing." Ginny stated. "I just like looking at him alright?" She offered lamely as a cover up. "He's got… pretty eyes." She added and bit her bottom lip as a laugh escaped her. It was easily the worst cover up she'd ever attempted.

Harry couldn't help snickering at it either. It had broken some of the tension in the room though. "I'm a Parselmouth." Harry explained.

Hermione's jaw dropped open and the bag slid off her shoulder to make a loud thudding noise on the floor.

It was rather unheard of. Ginny herself had needed a minute to process that when he'd told her. Meanwhile, he'd told her about the Horcruxes at the same time, so it had just been one more piece of incredible information and paled in comparison to the other.

It took a few moments for Ron and Hermione to recover from their shock. Now they were all standing outside of the second-floor girls' toilets. After a careful look around to see if anyone was watching, and Hermione had ducked inside to ensure that there wasn't anyone actually using the toilets, they all headed inside.

"Hello Ginny." Myrtle greeted her and considered the boys curiously. "Why did you bring boys into the girl's toilet?"

"Hi Myrtle." Ginny greeted her back. She hadn't been back to the toilet since she and Hermione had first talked to her, a fact she hoped the girl ghost wouldn't bring up. "Myrtle, this is my brother Ron, and my boyfriend Harry."

"Boyfriend?" Myrtle looked Harry over thoroughly and seemed slightly put out.

Ginny hesitated and shared a look with Hermione. "Yes." She nodded slowly.

Myrtle's chin tilted up slightly. "Hmm." Was all she remarked.

"I hope you don't mind." Hermione told her. "I told Ginny your story, and the boys."

"And is he your boyfriend?" Myrtle cut her off and indicated to Ron.

Hermione blushed. "Um. uh, n-no."

Ginny exchanged a humorous glance with Harry at that. She and Hermione never did figure out who it was that sent the flowers on Valentine's Day two weeks ago. There was a chance it had been Ron, though it had seemed a gift that had required a level of deep and emotional thought that she wasn't entirely convinced that Ron possessed. Right now though, Hermione was looking suitably flustered, and Ginny hoped Ron would see that the girl clearly still had feelings for him.

"Oh?" Myrtle asked and raised her eyebrows, looking at Ron in interest before giving him a small smile and batting her eyelashes a bit.

Harry's hand grasped Ginny's then tightly. They both needed the physical contact to stop them from bursting out loudly in laughter at how uncomfortable Ron was now looking.

"Anyways." Ginny managed. "We were all going to take a look around the room, see if there was some clue as to how a great beast might have gotten in here. You know, besides using the door."

Myrtle looked confused. "I've been in this room for nearly half a century. Don't you think I'd know if there were a secret entrance to another place here?" She sounded offended. "I am a ghost after all. I can go through the walls."

Ginny shrugged. "Yeah, well. No harm in looking, right? We just want to see for ourselves."

"You said that you were in one of the stalls when it happened?" Hermione asked and headed over to the row of stalls.

Myrtle floated along behind her and went to the one in the middle. "Yes. I was in this one. I came out and looked over there." She pointed to the circular arrangement of sinks. "Then that was the last thing I did alive." She said dramatically, looking at Ron, who was blushing at her attention.

Ginny went to the sinks and walked around them. There were eight of them. It was an interesting lay out to have for the plumbing, but it was aesthetically pleasing too. "They look like this in the boy's room?" She asked her brother and Harry.

"No." Harry told her, walking over to them as well. "They're all against the wall in the boys room."

Hermione furrowed her brow. "Why wouldn't they have the boys room looking the mirror image? That's usually how bathrooms are done."

"Usually, but this is an ancient castle. This probably wouldn't have always been a toilet." Ron pointed out. "It could have been something else and was converted after."

Hermione looked at him in surprise. "I never considered that."

Ginny hadn't either. After pacing around the sinks twice and seeing nothing she climbed up on one of them.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked.

Ginny stood on the sink and held onto the mirror for balance. "There's space behind here. Could be something in the middle." She had to go up on her tip toes in order to see over the mirror and behind it. "I don't see anything." She remarked.

"Yes, well-" Hermione started.

"No." Ginny cut her off. "I don't see anything. It's completely dark. There's some kind of grate or something, but then it's just blackness." She turned to Myrtle. "Would it harm you in any way to go down past the grate and see what's down there?"

Myrtle floated over to her and peered over the mirror as well. She went over the top of the mirrors to hang in the air above the center of them and lowered slightly. "No thank you." She told them easily enough and went over to sit in the stained-glass window.

Ginny looked down at her friends, unsure about what just happened.

"No thank you?" Ron asked. "Because you don't want to or because you can't?"

"What do you mean?" Myrtle asked looking down at them vacantly.

Harry put a hand gently on Ginny's leg and offered her his other to help her down. She hopped to the ground and the four of them went down the little aisle between the stalls towards Myrtle.

"Myrtle." Hermione started. "You said you were able to go through walls, and you told me you've been down the pipes and into the lake."

"Yes." The ghost said. "The Merpeople aren't very nice to me, but it is pretty down there."

"So why is it you don't want to go down and inspect the hole in the middle of the sinks?" Harry asked.

Myrtle tilted her head at Harry. "I can do that. Why didn't you just ask me to?" She gave them an indignant look and soared over to the sinks. They all watched as she once again hovered over the center of the sinks and lowered herself to the height of the mirrors, then promptly flew back to sit on the ledge of the window again and began humming to herself.

"There must be a ward or something." Hermione went back towards the sinks. "This is incredible."

Ginny followed her over. "How many centuries has this been here and no one knew about it?" She asked no one in particular.

"So, this could be Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets?" Harry asked.

Hermione turned to Harry abruptly. "You read Hogwarts a History!" She beamed.

Harry rolled his eyes at her. "Yes. I finally read it." He drawled. "And," he studied the sinks more carefully. "Maybe there's some kind of lever or something that should allow you access. Like in Indiana Jones."

"We'd probably need some kind of key or something if that's the case." Hermione nodded.

Ginny and Ron shared a look, not knowing what they were referring to. But the two of them had listened to Bill's stories of the hidden tunnels he'd helped discover in Egypt and both started looking for something out of place. Ginny was searching for an etching of a Rune or something. It could be some sort of spoken 'key'. Harry started turning on and off the taps while the others were looking around the mirrors and under the porcelain sinks.

"This one doesn't work." Harry said. The three others went to his side.

"That sink has never worked." Myrtle said from her perch. "Even when I was alive it never worked."

"Look." Ron pointed at a small raised section on the faucet. "That looks like a snake." The four of them peered at it.

Hermione went to check all the other sinks. "It's only that one."

Ginny turned to Harry. "Maybe try telling it to open in Parseltongue?"

He worried his lips a moment but moved to place himself directly in front of the sink, the other three moved back. Letting out one long nervous breath he said the word. "Open." Nothing happened.

"That was English, mate." Ron told him.

Harry stared at the sink harder. "Open up."

Ginny wanted to laugh. It had still been English, but the sight of Harry trying to order a sink to open she couldn't help but find amusing.

"Still English." Ron told him helpfully.

"When was the last time you spoke to a snake?" Hermione asked. "Did you know you were doing it?"

He shook his head. "I just talked to it. I didn't know I wasn't speaking English. It wasn't until my cousin's friend told my uncle about it in front of me that I learned I'd been speaking another language." He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Open Sesame."

Even Hermione muffled a laugh at that one. "This isn't Aladdin's Tomb, Harry." She chuckled.

He shot her a crooked grin, showing he'd done that one in jest.

"Maybe if you concentrate on the snake carved into the faucet. Pretend you're talking to it, and it's real." Ginny offered.

Harry nodded and lowered his head to stare more intently at the snake. After nearly a full minute of staring at it he closed his eyes. A short hissing sound came out of his mouth.

The four of them had to step back in surprise as there was a great groaning noise and the sound of scraping metal. The sink they'd been focusing on began to lower and revealed the large opening in the floor behind it. The grate that Ginny had seen was gone and it was just an abyss below.

Hermione let out an exultation and clapped her hands together with a small jump. "You did it! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!" The other three were frozen in shock while Hermione was shivering with exuberance. "How far down do you think it goes?" Hermione asked and moved forwards.

Ron's hand shot out and stopped her from getting too close. "You aren't thinking about going down there, are you?"

"No. Of course not." She told him. "I'm hardly prepared for that right now."

"Right now?!" Ron exclaimed. "You mean you WILL be going down there?"

"Well... yes." She stated. "Of course, I want to go down there. We'll need brooms, and torches. It looks rather dirty as well. We should probably bring parchment to map it out as well, it is a pipe or tunnel of some kind. I would assume that there may be a labyrinth of tunnels."

As Hermione rambled off her list Ron was staring at her incredulously. Ginny and Harry's shock was wearing off and they each stepped a little closer to the opening as well. It really was just a dark drop. Ginny raised her wand and cast out a ball of light, directing it down the hole. It kept going until the light wasn't visible.

"ROOSTERS!" Ron yelled, stopping Hermione's tirade and gaining the other two's attention as well. "How have you listed every bloody thing you can think of except for the one that can save your life?"

"Well, yes. Of course, the roosters." She rolled her eyes.

"Well you could bloody well say it!" Ron chewed out looking at her angrily. "You're listing off food to bring on the journey and brooms. Those are a given as well."

"Ron." Hermione sounded wounded.

"It can't just be us either. Not when there is a potential Basilisk down there." He started pacing. "We need someone with more experience. We need Professor Lupin, and maybe an Auror. McGonagall might be able to transfigure things into roosters. We need a whole gaggle of roosters."

"It's called a flock." Hermione corrected him quietly.

"I don't really care." He told her deliberately. "You are not going down there without a thorough plan. Treat this like you're studying for a final or something." He warned her, pointing a finger in her face.

Ginny and Harry had rested back against the sinks that were still standing. He'd pulled her against his side with an arm around her hip while they watched Ron berate Hermione with interest. He was hell bent on her safety and it was rather endearing.

From the expression on Hermione's face she was seeing his worry the same way. Her cheeks were flushing prettily and her eyes growing glassy.

"Think she's going to cry?" Harry whispered.

"She might." Ginny grinned. "She also might just throw herself at him." She waggled her eyebrows at Harry and turned back to listen to Ron who was now going on about how they needed several people to go down there in teams 'in case the worst happens'.

She sucked in a breath at that. Harry tugged her tighter against him. "It'll be fine, Gin." He kissed her temple. "We'll just sort out the roosters first." The stood up straight and removed his arm from her side. "I'm going to close this now." He told them and stood in front of the opening, closing his eyes tight and eventually letting out another short hissing sound, the sink rising up from the floor once more and blocking the entrance.

"I think we should tell Sirius." Ginny told Harry. "If it has to do with Him, then he'll want to know."

Harry nodded, then turned to Hermione. "This is a little bigger than your story now."

She shook her head. "It's all part of it. And a remarkable find." She beamed.

()()()

The sun had set by the time the four students had gathered back in the girl's toilet. This time they had the Headmaster as well as Professor Lupin and Sirius Black with them.

They'd all gone down to the Great Hall for dinner as though nothing was amiss, and Hermione had requested a private audience with the Headmaster afterwards and told him what they'd discovered. Harry and Ginny had gone to Professor Lupin's private quarters and shared the story with him as well. He in turn alerted Sirius.

The three adults stared in awe as Harry opened the entrance again for them. Hermione had told them about how she'd figured it out, and Myrtle told them her story as well.

Upon hearing the story of the girls demise once more the Headmaster looked stricken. "I should have seen it." He said aloud, more to himself. "My dear, I can only apologize. I knew that it hadn't been Hagrid's creature that was causing the attacks but had no proof that it wasn't. It wasn't until many years after your passing that I learned Tom Riddle was a Parselmouth, and at that point there was much going on in our world and your demise was simply one of the many."

The ghost didn't look to be moved by the apology, and no one else seemed to have anything to offer by way of condolences.

With nothing more he could say to the ghost Dumbledore turned his attention to the living students. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. It must have taking quite a bit of sleuthing to discover this."

Hermione's brow furrowed at his choice of wording. "You do realize that I intend to go down there." She told him. Ron moved closer to her then, so their arms were brushing against each other, as a show of solidarity.

"Miss Granger, it is potentially very dangerous down there. I cannot allow you to be put in harm's way like that if I can prevent it." The headmaster told her.

"With all due respect Headmaster, I am of age and am the discoverer of this. Because of that, I have every right to be part of the team that goes down there." She argued.

"Yeah." Harry pipped up. "And you'll need me down there because of my Parseltongue. You might have other doors and such that you'd need that language to open."

"If Harry's going down there, then I'm going down there." Ginny stated firmly.

"If Ginny's going down there, then I'm going down there." Ron piped up, though he was looking at Hermione when he said it. "And I'm of age as well."

The Headmaster pursed his lips and drew in a breath through his nose. "I would require mister Potter to accompany us, but only with the consent of his guardian." He turned to Sirius.

Sirius had only been paying half attention to what was going on, he was busying himself with circling the sinks with Professor Lupin and casting out balls of light to go down the tunnel. Turning back towards them he locked eyes with Harry, a wave of concern crossing his eyes. "Everyone is sure that this creature is most likely a Basilisk?" He asked the room at large.

"It makes the most sense." Hermione said firmly. "Students had been petrified, one killed the instant she saw its yellow eyes. Tom Riddle was a Parselmouth. Everything adds up."

Sirius hesitated, but Harry was staring him down in challenge. "Roosters." He told them. "A fucking lot of roosters."

Harry grinned at him.

"Alright then." The Headmaster relented. "Miss Granger, Mister Potter, you may both accompany the team down when we go. Mister Potter, if you could please?" He indicated back to the sinks for Harry to close the opening again.

Harry sealed off the entrance again.

"Mister Weasley, I would ask that you not come with us though. The smaller the number of people down there the better."

"I'm of age as well." Ron argued.

"Your sister is not, however. Perhaps you should stay back with her."

"What?!" Ginny exclaimed. "You aren't going to let me go?"

"Do you believe your parents would consent to this?" The Headmaster asked dubiously, knowing the answer.

Ginny crossed her arms and gave him a blazing look but said nothing.

Hermione imagined her own parents would have something to say to her about going into an unknown tunnel with a potentially deadly beast inside it. But what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them, and try as they might have, they still did not quite understand this world she now lived in. Best to just not tell them.

She didn't want Ron to go down there with them, and she felt bad about that. But if Ginny had to stay back, then she wanted Ron to stay with her rather than have Ginny be nervous the whole time on her own. Perhaps if they managed to get down there and do away with the beast, then they could all go down there and explore it.

Ginny turned her eyes on Hermione imploringly, as though she would have any say to overrule the Headmaster, but she didn't.

"Very well then." He moved on. "Please allow us some time to consult on the best approach." He looked towards the Defense professor and Sirius. "We have something else to discuss now, if you four wouldn't mind heading back to Gryffindor. And I don't believe I should need to say this, but I will. Please keep this discovery to yourselves."

They all nodded, even Ginny who was pouting more than anything.

Sirius followed behind the Headmaster and Professor, giving each Harry and Ginny a short hug on his way out. He whispered something in Ginny's ear as well that had her features relax slightly and nod at him.

When it was just the four of them, plus Myrtle who was back perched in the window looking down at them, they all exchanged rather awkward glances.

"Well, this isn't fair." Ron broke the silence.

"You can understand his line of thinking though, can't you?" Hermione asked.

"What? Because I didn't discover it and can't speak a dead language, I'm not capable of being any use? I'm of age. I can do... something. Handle the birds or something. At least I have experience with bloody poultry." He argued.

She didn't want to say anything about how it couldn't be too hard to deal with the birds. It would just put him in a worse mood. He headed for the door and she followed behind him. "Are you two coming?" She asked Harry and Ginny.

"I think we'll meet you back in the common room later." Harry told her, looking at his girlfriend who still looked upset.

Hermione nodded and left them there, hurrying to catch up with Ron.

"Ron." She tried to slow him down grabbing hold of his arm. "I'm sorry. I couldn't think of any way to convince him on the spot that we needed you down there as well."

"What does it matter." He huffed. "You don't need me at all. Best just to be the minder for my sister. It's the only reason I'm even attending this school, isn't it? Probably what you've been thinking. Couldn't possibly just be for my education with how stupid I clearly am."

"I don't think that!" Hermione exclaimed. "Why would you think I thought that?" She pulled him to a stop. "Ron. I know you chose to attend school for more than just to accompany Ginny and for Quidditch."

"Maybe I didn't. Maybe the only reason I'm here is because of Quidditch." He challenged.

"Well." She was taken aback by how he had rounded on her. "Well then fine. But don't you dare assume that because of that I'd consider you useless. I've seen you play chess hundreds of times; I know you're a good strategist. I was listening earlier when you were laying out a plan of approach. It was well reasoned."

"Then why am I still not good enough for you?" He burst out at her.

She blinked in shock. "What?"

"I get that we have different interests. But how could that be so much of a bad thing that you wanted to end things? I had thought that we were getting on just fine. You were all wrapped up in the Daily Prophet stuff, so we hadn't been seeming much of each other, but still! Was there something I missed? Did I offend you some way?"

Hermione swallowed and her breath hitched. "No." Her chin was warbling.

"Then what?" He asked, anger still prevalent in his question.

"I. I."

"You what?"

"I'm a prude, okay?" She admitted angrily, feeling increasingly upset. "I knew you wanted to go further than I was letting you, and I just wasn't ready for it. I figured it was better to break up with you before you got tired of me stopping you and moved on to some other, more willing girl."

The anger evaporated from Ron's face. "I never pushed you." He said concern. "I let you dictate how far you wanted to... I tried everything I could to be the perfect gentleman for you." He said quietly.

Hermione felt like a hand had been wrapped around her heart and it was starting to squeeze. "You were. You are." She blinked away the tears. "I just. I couldn't help bringing situations to mind where you got tired of me and moved on. And." She stopped to take a steadying breath.

"That's why you broke us up? Because you thought I'd eventually cheat on you?" He asked incredulously.

"Well, it certainly didn't take you long to move on to 'Lav-Lav'." She commented, immediately regretting it.

"Hey. Don't you dare get mad at me for my choice of how to get over you. You dumped me, not the other way around." He told her off.

"I know. I'm sorry." She bowed her head.

"So, it wasn't because we're too different. Or because you just don't think of me that way. That was all just shite you made up because you were insecure." His anger was back.

Hermione couldn't respond verbally. She felt the heat of shame rising to her cheeks and nodded her head.

"Do you have any idea how that made me feel? You're brilliant Hermione, telling me we were too 'different'," he made air quotes, "had me believing you were ditching me because you thought I was a fucking moron."

"I'm sorry." She repeated, the unwanted tears rolling down her cheeks. She looked down at her shoes. "I was just so sure I wouldn't be enough for you." She hadn't realized he might take it that way. It hadn't been her intention at all.

Now she felt absolutely retched. She crossed her arms in front of her, cupping her elbow and waiting for him to continue laying into her.

She deserved it.

He didn't though. He took her chin in his hand and raised it gently. With his thumbs he wiped away the trail her tears had left.

She melted at his touch. He was just so wonderful to her. Even when he was as angry with her as he was then, his blue eyes were boring into her and he was a perfect gentleman. His whole everything was so perfect.

Without further thought she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and kissing him. She'd finally admitted to him her real reason, he could cast her aside and reject her if he wanted to, but she had to prove to him that she was being honest. She still wanted him very much.

He was standing still and unresponsive as she moved her lips against his. She didn't want to relent though. She'd been dreaming of his kisses and missing them.

Slowly his hands moved to her hips and pulled her tighter to him and he began to kiss her back. His hand moved into her hair and he took charge of the kiss. It was just like it had been before, but more. She'd bared her worries to him and he was right, they'd been unfounded.

"I missed you so much." She whispered when she pulled back. Resting her forehead against his and feeling that hand around her heart let it go releasing a wave or warmth and comfort over her whole body.

When she opened her eyes to look at him though, he wasn't reflecting the emotions she was feeling. He still looked angry, hurt and confused. He placed his hands over her arms and pulled them from around him and took a step back. "You really hurt me Hermione." He told her. "You really hurt me, and I need some time to process this."

A cold shiver ran through her spine and he held her wrists out before her. He wasn't rejecting her. He was just going to think things over. That was fair. That was fair and she needed to let him do that. She loved thinking things over. Incessantly and to the utter annoyance of those around her.

"Okay." She said shakily and took a step back from him and her arms dropped to her sides as they slipped out of his hands.

The both of them stood there staring at each other, not knowing what to do then. After a minute Ron turned and started slowly heading back towards Gryffindor Common Room. He paused and looked back at her, raising his eyebrows as if to ask if she was coming.

Swallowing her nerves, she managed to make her feet move, walking silently alongside him.

()()()

Harry had let her lead the way. She was in a mood.

And she was too stubborn to be pulled out of it easily.

He'd thought she might want to go to the Room or Requirement, but she led him to the Prefects Bathroom instead. It had been a while since they'd gone there. And the last few times they'd tried it had been occupied.

He really needed to start carrying his map around with him.

Harry followed her in and locked the door behind them. She sat down on the side of the tub in a huff, crossing her arms and not even turning the taps on. He said nothing as he went around the tub and turned the faucets on for the lavender and vanilla scented one's. She seemed to like those.

As the tub filled, she still sat there in her sulk. He tried not to find it as adorable as he did. She would most likely glare at him if her expressed that on his face. Slowly, and in full view of her on the opposite side of the tub, he pulled his shirt over his head. Her eyes raised up to look at his bare chest, then to his eyes. He couldn't resist giving her a sly smile in challenge. Wanting her to start stripping off her clothes as well.

She simply narrowed her eyes at him, and he saw the tightening of her jaw. Then she looked away again, determined to stay in her mood.

Undeterred he popped the buttons on his trousers and pushed them down with his boxers so he was naked before her. He watched her carefully as she fought the urge to look over at him again. She'd seen him naked multiple times now, and he wasn't at all shy about it with her anymore. Nor was she with her body. Then again, she hadn't seemed shy about her own nakedness since day one.

She also had nothing to be shy about in his opinion.

He slipped into the full tub and waded across the small distance to where her feet were in the water and took one foot in his hand, massaging it slightly.

"Ginny." He started.

She replied by letting out a huff through her nose, but he could see he was wearing her down slightly. He took her other foot and gave that a bit of a rub as well. Slowly he worked his hands up her calves. Then up her thighs. She began swaying slightly back and forth with his movements.

"You don't fight fair." She moaned softly as she enjoyed his massaging the underside of her thighs.

"Why would I want to do that?" He asked lightly and placed a kiss to the inside of her knee. Her trousers were rolled up to her mid-thigh. He knew she wanted to simply take them off and join him in the water. She was just being obstinate. "I can make you feel even better if you come in here with me."

"I don't want to feel better. I just want to be angry about it for a while longer." She told him unconvincingly.

"How about you be angry about it while I give you a back rub?" He offered with a cheeky grin and continued to work his hands higher up her legs.

Her eyes rolled back behind her lids as he massaged her muscles. "Fine." She gave in, lifting her shirt over her head and pulling her legs out of his hands so she could stand up and strip off the rest of her clothes.

Harry couldn't help but grin at the sight of her naked before him. He couldn't wait for the day to come when he could wake up to that sight and spend a lazy morning tracing patterns in the freckles that covered her body, preferably with his tongue. He found himself particularly hypnotized with the scant few that adorned her breasts.

She slipped into the water and he watched as her breasts became buoyant. She gave him the smirk that told him he must have the stupid look on his face he got every time she was doing something that made his brain shut off.

"You said something about a back rub?" She asked with a twinkle in her eye.

He hummed his assent and pulled her into his arms, kissing her thoroughly as he massaged from her waist to her shoulders with her pressed up against him.

The humming and moaning she was making from his hands was only serving to make him harder. It was with great relief he felt her take him in hand and start rubbing her fist up and down in a relaxed movement. He began kissing his way down her neck as his hands moved to her bum to massage her there.

She removed her hand from his erection and placed it on his shoulder. "You're going to be careful down there, right?" She whispered.

He pulled his head back and looked into her eyes. She didn't look the least bit angry any more, only worried.

"You're going to close your eyes at the slightest sign or sound of movement?" She asked and swallowed heavily.

"I promise." He whispered, feeling a warmth in his chest that came every time she showed how much she cared for him. "There will be at least five of us, probably more. What are the odds that it is still alive down there anyways?" He asked, more trying to placate her fears than to receive an answer.

"If it's still down there, then it's still alive." She told him knowingly. "Basilisks can live for hundreds of years. I doubt that Tom Riddle brought one from the orphanage with him. He probably found it down there after it'd been there for hundreds of years." She explained.

Harry frowned. He hadn't thought of that. "How would it have survived?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. But I remember someone from the Ministry stopping by the Burrow once. He came to inspect the property, even the chicken coop. I was maybe ten at the time and mum let me tag along while she showed the property and wards to him and I was asking him why he needed to see the chicken coop. He told me about how he had to check for dangerous creatures and asked about whether we had any toads in the area. I giggled when he told me about how the Basilisks were hatched, because it seemed so odd, I'm pretty sure he was joking with me, just being a little silly. But later on, I looked them up and was amazed with how dangerous they were. Their a level five dangerous creature Harry. That's as high a danger level as it gets."

"Then I'm glad you aren't going down there." Harry told her honestly.

"Harry." She gave him a hard look, then a small pout came to her lips.

"I would be terrified if I found out you were going down there without me too." He kissed her temple. "I promise I'll listen as carefully as possible and close my eyes at the first sound of movement. Maybe there's a charm we can all use to amplify any sounds as well. Give us all a heads up."

She let out a big sigh. "Yeah. I'm sure between everyone, plus Hermione, all the bases will be covered."

He cupped her cheek and gave her a sweet kiss. "I love you, you know that?"

She smiled reluctantly and nodded. Her legs wrapped around him and she captured his lips again. "Show me how much."

Smiling against her lips he guided them over to the side of the tub pressing her against the wall there. His hands resumed their task of massaging every bit of her body he could, spending extra time appreciating her breasts one at a time.

"Does this feel good for you?" He asked out of lust and curiosity, meaning his touching her breasts.

She hummed and rested her head back. "I like when you rub your thumbs along the underside." She told him and rocked against him. "I like when you kiss them too." She smiled coyly.

Needing no further encouragement, he lowered his head to bury it in her soft mounds. Her little nipples were hardened peaks showcasing her arousal. The sensation of them against his face was indescribable. Like he was running his skin across warm silk perhaps. If warm silk smelled and tasted the way she did.

His fingers came around the underside of her bum and found her entrance. He grinned against her breast when he felt how slick she was there, even in the water he could tell the difference of her own wetness. She let out an appreciative sigh as he ran his fingers along her slit and she ran her own fingers through his hair, keeping his head in place against her chest.

He gave her a soft bite so she would loosen her grip enough for him to raise himself up and line up the head of his penis with her entrance. He tried to maintain eye contact as she twirled her hips, lowering herself down marginally on him with every rotation, but the sensation was too much for him to be able to keep his eyes open. They both let out a sigh of contentment when he was fully sheathed inside her. This was his favorite place in the world.

He gripped the taps beside her head with one hand for leverage as he slowly moved in and out of her as though they had all the time in the world.

**()()()**

**AN- Definition for a Basilisk taken directly from Most Macabre Monstrosities.**


	25. In the Chamber

**()()()**

**Chapter 25- In the Chamber**

**()()()**

"Kids, eh?" Sirius broke the silence.

The three of them, Sirius, Remus and Albus had been sitting in the office for near on ten full minutes in silent contemplation. That Hermione girl was really quite brilliant. And now that it was pointed out what the beast was and how they'd discovered it and its location, it all seemed so logical.

There was a Basilisk below the school.

He was not keen on the idea of Harry having to go down in that tunnel with them, but he would be their best advantage. Save for the roosters of course.

"Hagrid should come with us." Sirius told Albus.

The old man was still in deep concentration and nodded absently. It had been a very long time since Albus Dumbledore had needed to be the great leader of the light as he had been in the last two wars. It was understandable that he had made mistakes and oversights. It seemed he was having trouble dealing with all these facts coming together.

"I'm not happy that Hermione Granger has insisted on coming down there." Remus murmured.

"It is her right though." Sirius offered.

"I am thinking about just how delicate this matter is." Albus told them. "If this gets out, then there is a chance that the remaining Death Eaters that managed to keep themselves out of prison will take interest. It might lead them to remember their misguided views that Voldemort had spewed and search for him." He warned.

"You want to keep this quiet, like with the Horcruxes." Remus nodded in understanding.

"Well, if there is a Basilisk down there then we have the answer to how to get rid of the damned things." Sirius commented.

Remus let out an astounded huff of laughter. "Yes, looks like you'll be keeping your gold."

"Excuse me?" Albus asked imploringly.

"Basilisk Venom would certainly be able to do the job of 'killing' the pieces of soul." Sirius explained.

"Problem was that we didn't think we'd ever be able to track any down." Remus added.

Albus peered at the two of them, the gears turning in his head. "I would like some more time to try and transfer the soul fragments out."

"How much more time?" Sirius asked in irritation. "It's been two months now, have you come any closer to discovering a method?"

Dumbledore sighed. "No." he admitted. "But there is more reason behind my desire to find a method than to simply preserve our founder's history."

Sirius exchanged a look with Remus then. He hadn't mentioned anything about this to them in their meetings, only that they were priceless relics. He was always keeping a few cards up his sleeve and it was past the point of irritating. "Why then?"

He touched his fingers together in front of him and brought them to his lips for a moment. "It has to do with the prophesy."

"Again, with the bloody prophesy." Sirius burst out. "Isn't it over? Hasn't it been fulfilled the night that bastard killed our best friend?"

Albus raised a hand to attempt to calm him. "Not if we believe that he is still alive. We do believe that he is, yes? After what we have all witnessed?"

"We do." Remus said slowly, letting his friend continue to fume.

"Because of the wording of the prophesy I believe that Voldemort himself made it self fulfilling with the portion of it that he heard, however there is part that he did not hear, and it is what is leading me to believe that-." He cut himself off, having trouble saying the words out loud. "I believe he may have made a living Horcrux."

"So, you were wanting to get practice with transferring the Horcruxes before attempting it on the living Horcrux." Remus nodded his head in understanding.

Sirius meanwhile was feeling ice pour through his veins. He'd read all he could about curses and dark magic in the search for a way to transfer the soul fragments. Something like that would leave a mark on a person. Knowing what they did about Tom Riddle he wouldn't have placed something so important to himself in another being, so it would have been an accident. One having to do with the prophesy. "Oh God." he sighed in defeat and leaned forward and put his face in his hands.

"Yes. I'm sorry Sirius. It is still a theory. But it was beginning to be more likely with every Horcrux we found. And at the point that he would have been less stable by that point."

He just wanted to be a dog again. Just be a dog and spend his days running around the Burrow and sleeping in front of the fire. Everything had been so simple. Yes, he'd been an escaped convict that was a man trapped as a dog, but life had been easy.

"You mean Harry?" Remus croaked, catching on.

Albus nodded. "His scar, the way that Voldemort had vanished right after. And... Lily."

"What do you mean 'and Lily'?" Remus asked.

"Voldemort had not meant to kill her that night. She was supposed to have been spared, but she sacrificed herself to try and save her son."

Sirius and Remus exchanged startled looks. "How do you know that?" Sirius asked harshly.

"The one that had overheard the prophesy. He had asked for his Lord to spare her when he found out whom the prophesy might have been referring to." Albus told them sadly. "She-."

"This Death Eater asked that LILY be saved? Not James or Harry. Just Lily. And he didn't bother trying to warn them. Just asked that Lily be saved." Sirius was gripping the arm rests. Albus didn't confirm nor deny. Sirius didn't need him to. There was only one supposedly reformed Death Eater that would have fought to have her saved. One sniveling, slimy, greasy bastard that would have asked that a' measly Mudblood' be saved from death.

"I'm going to kill him." Remus stood with him and had to grab his arm to stop him from heading out the door. Sirius was only seeing red. This was all because of some damned prophesy and that bastard Severus Snape. "I wish you had killed him that night." He growled at Remus.

The shock and horror on Remus' face was enough to calm him down. His friend took a step back from him as though he'd just been slapped.

"No. Remus, no. I'm sorry. I'm just." He was devastated and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Still after fifteen years it would tear him up inside every time he remembered what it was like to find out that his best friends had been murdered. But though he would have loved to go and strangle Snivellus right then he hadn't meant he wanted his best friend to turn into a killer. It had been one of his biggest regrets, to have acted so impetuously.

Remus hadn't talked to him for over a month when he'd found out, nor had James.

Sirius managed to sit back in his chair in shame.

"Is that why you kept him here? He came to you as well to try and save her?" Remus asked Albus.

Albus nodded. "He was too late though. As soon as he came to me, I went to Godric's Hollow. That was the reason I was the first on the scene."

"And you've been harboring him ever since." Sirius scowled at him.

"He has seen the error of his ways." the old man defended. "It was because of Lily that he turned against everything Voldemort stood for."

"Too. Late." Sirius bit out.

"We were all too late." Remus hung his head.

"How do we find out?" Sirius asked. "About whether Harry has..." He trailed off as it hit him. "He can speak Parseltongue." He closed his eyes and sat back as he let it wash over him.

Albus allowed them the time they needed to come to terms with this. Let them understand just how important it was that they find out how to transfer the Horcruxes. And why using a Dementor was absolutely off the table.

"We can still use the Basilisk venom." Remus said. "Once we figure out how to transfer the Horcruxes, we can use the Basilisk venom to destroy them then."

Sirius squared his shoulders. They would find a way. They had to.

Albus nodded. "And now, may we begin to plan how we intend to deal with the hidden chamber?" he waited for their nod. "I do believe bringing Hagrid with us would be a good idea. He has the most experience dealing with dangerous creatures, and he is able to keep a secret. Do you two trust him with this?" he asked with bright eyes.

"Yes." Remus answered for the both of them. "Can he use a broom though?" Remus wondered aloud.

Albus inclined his head. "He does have a family sized broom that he has needed to use on rare occasions. He can handle it well enough to follow us down. He will be able to supply the roosters as well."

"Sirius and I have some experience with cartography." Remus mentioned. "We will want to map out this chamber after. Search for hidden rooms and such."

Albus' eyebrows raised in question. "You have experience with cartography?"

It was that that helped Sirius calm down slightly. Mapping the castle and secret passageways had been a lot of work and a very rewarding experience. Creating the map has been an incredible feat on its own. Doing that at the same time as they became Animagi too, well. He may be lazy but remembering those school days was a good reminder of just how capable he could be if he set himself to a task. "We do." he answered.

"Alright. I don't believe this is something we should wait on. If there is a beast below the castle, then I would like it dealt with as soon as possible." he told them. "Would tomorrow be too soon for you two?"

Sirius was surprised. He'd expected Albus to want ages to prepare for this, not hours. He found himself eager to get a move on this adventure though. The possibility of one or more of them getting very hurt down there would eat at him if they waited.

"I am okay with that." Sirius told him.

"As am I." Remus agreed.

"Well then." Albus stood. "I shall head down to Hagrid's hut and speak with him. If the two of you could each bring a broom tomorrow, and anything else you believe we may need. I will also have Argus cordon off the girl's bathroom."

()()()()

Ginny would not let go of his hand, even to eat her breakfast. He got that she was worried, he was too. From the stricken expressions on Hermione and Ron's faces they weren't fairing too well with what was about to happen either.

Harry didn't know what to expect, but he was putting a lot of stock into his ability to speak to the snake, and that it would be killed by the roosters that were going to be coming with them. He agreed with Ron's assessment yesterday; if the cry of a rooster was fatal to the beast, then they could just make the birds continuously cock-a-doodle-doo and Bob's your Uncle.

Not that his heart didn't leap in his chest when he received the Owl from the Headmaster about how they would all be going down there after breakfast. It was still an adventure the likes of which he hadn't experienced before, particularly since even Albus Dumbledore didn't know what was down there, but he'd be with three fully trained wizards and Hagrid. Hagrid could handle any beast.

Hermione didn't look like she was managing with her breakfast so well and Ron seemed to flip back and forth between looking concerned for her and angry at her.

Neville had started the meal sitting with them and attempting to start up a conversation, but all four of them were having difficulty carrying on. He'd simply finished his breakfast quickly and headed out to the Greenhouses.

Harry exchanged a look with Hermione. They were excluding Neville from this for now and it felt so wrong. Up until this year it had been the three of them as a unit. They would study together and hang out together all the time. Now it felt like they were all invested in different things and though Harry's and Hermione's things had more of an overlap, Neville was just spending all his time in the Greenhouse and with Luna.

"Do we tell him?" Hermione asked with concern shining in her eyes.

"Not right now." Harry said. He knew that was what Hermione was thinking too, she just didn't want to be the one to say it.

Hermione nodded and they all passed the rest of their meal in silence before getting up and heading out of the Great Hall towards the girl's toilet. It had been roped off, but they checked to see if anyone was watching and all snuck in. His Firebolt had been shrunk down and tucked into his book bag. Hermione had brought her bag with her as well, but he knew she wasn't the best flier and she'd have to ride down with him. Her bag was full of parchment and other supplies.

"Harry! Hermione!" Hagrid greeted them. "Hello there Weasley's." He was in as good a mood as ever. No doubt he was very excited about the prospect of dealing with a Basilisk. Probably thought the 'poor thing' was 'horribly misunderstood'. He had brought a few crates with him. At least eight roosters.

"Heyya Hagrid." Harry said.

"You seem rather excited." Hermione commented dubiously.

"Course I am. Never thought I'd get a chance to see a real Basilisk! Ruddy impressive beasts they are." He pulled a canteen out of one of his many pockets and began filling it up at the sink. "Should 'ave figured out that's what it had been way back then. Don't know if you lot know, but that beast is the reason I got expelled." He told them, though he didn't seem the slightest bit upset about it.

"I'd worked that out." Hermione nodded.

"Yeah. Apparently, you had an Acromantuala that the death was blamed on?" Ginny asked.

"Aye, I did. Aragog." Hagrid nodded and sat down on one of the crates. The crate must have been reinforced to withstand his weight. "He lives in the forest now. Got him a wife a few decades ago and they're flourishing out there."

Harry exchanged glances with his friends. He could only imagine how many of the large spiders there were in the forest 'flourishing' at that moment. Ron didn't look like he was taking that information very well.

"You aren't upset. About finding out what it really was that was attacking students after all these years?" Hermione asked him.

"Oh no." he waved his hand dismissively. "What's done is done. Poor thing was only doing what was in its nature. I've had a good life here anyways. Enjoy my job, I'm a ruddy professor after all. Probably what I would have wanted to do if I finished my OWLS anyhow."

Harry couldn't help but smile at Hagrid then. He was so content with his life. People like Draco Malfoy were always making fun of him, but he was happy doing what he was doing and enjoying the little things. Malfoy could learn from him in that regard, how often had anyone seen that ponce smile when it wasn't out of spite?

The group of them didn't have to wait long for the other three to show up.

"Anyone else?" Hermione asked.

"No. Just the _six_ of us." The Headmaster impressed upon the number, looking specifically between Ginny and Ron.

"We're staying up here." Ginny told him dryly. "We'll watch that no one else comes in and be here in case you need something. I'm not sitting in Gryffindor Tower and waiting." Ron stood beside his sister in a show of solidarity.

"Alright." The Headmaster seemed to find that amenable. "Now we will all go down one broom at a time. Once at the bottom, Harry, you will need to be at the front, but I want your eyes closed the entire time, understand?"

"The whole time?" Harry asked. How was that supposed to work? He would surely have to be walking for some portion of it when they got to the bottom.

"You'll have your hand on my shoulder." Sirius told him. "Once we've lit up as much of the area down there as possible, we'll tell you when you can open your eyes. Same goes for you Hermione. Remus, er, your Professor Lupin will guide you."

Hermione nodded, offering no argument. She did look as though she might be regretting her decision to join the party slightly.

"Hagrid." Dumbledore turned to him. "You will be going third. I'll want you right behind me. I'll be levitating a rooster cage down in front of Harry, you and Sirius will have as many of the other cages as you can manage. If we have to come back up for the rest, we will. Now, Miss Granger. I know you are not quite skilled on a broom, so you will ride down with Professor Lupin."

Hermione nodded and gave an involuntary shiver.

Ginny squeezed Harry's hand, he turned to look down at her. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "Come back to me." she whispered.

"Promise." He kissed her temple and squeezed her tight. She moved over to give Hermione a hug as well.

"Awe, every thin' will be fine Ginny." Hagrid waived off her concern.

Ron came over and clapped Harry on the back. "Take care of 'Mione, yeah?" he requested quietly.

"Course." Harry told him.

He moved in front of the sink again while everyone behind him was double checking their belongings. Closing his eyes, he pictured the Boa Constrictor from the Zoo, the way it had lazily raised its head at him. "Open." Harry said, he heard it this time. There was a distinctive hissing noise he made with his word, but he still just heard what he'd said clear as day in English in his head. The rumbling around him told him he'd done it correctly though.

Turning around from the entrance he mechanically took his broom from Hermione and avoided looking in Ginny's eyes, which he could tell from his peripherals were glassy.

The Headmaster levitated a rooster cage in front of himself and Harry mounted the broom, kicking off only slightly so he would hover instead of shoot upwards. He nodded at the Headmaster to make sure they were all ready for this and took one deep breath before moving his broom over the hole in the floor. It looked like it was just going to be big enough for Hagrid's broom, but certainly not for more than one broom at a time. He pulled out his wand and cast out a ball of light to fall down the hole and lit up the end of his wand and began his descent.

Dumbledore levitated a rooster cage in front of him and he followed it all the way until Harry touched down on the uneven ground at the bottom of the tunnel. It had been quite the drop. Perhaps a full mile.

The rooster had landed down in front of him and he picked up the cage, moving it out of the way and pointedly looking down while he waited for the others.

It was difficult to walk on the surface below his feet. It wasn't just that it was uneven. There was a layer of something between the soles of his shoes and the solid ground beneath him. It felt like layers of twigs, or crushed ice. Casting a light over the area he was it was small bones.

The area was completely covered in small animal bones.

Dumbledore touched down; his light added to Harry's showed how far the layer of small bones spread out and continued to spread out. It wasn't just contained to the bottom of the tunnel.

More cages touched down, then Hagrid landed heavily and the three of them moved the cages off to the side and collected the one's Sirius had levitated a few more of the birds and found a spot to land. Remus and Hermione were the last.

Everyone was silent. The sound of their collective breathing alone though was echoing off the walls. The birds too were making small curring noises in their throats.

"Anything, Harry?" Sirius asked him.

He was straining his ears as much as possible but heard nothing past the group of them aside from the dripping of condensation somewhere down one of the tunnels. He shook his head 'no'.

"Let's all release the birds." Albus said and they all went to a different cage to let them out.

Harry went to the cage nearest him and managed to get the door open and step back before the rooster launched itself out of the cage in a flurry of feathers and with a loud cry.

The problem with having so many of the male birds though was that they all went at each other, as they were genetically programmed to fight for dominance, and the things immediately sought to attack the others.

"On whit cha'." Hagrid shooed them away from each other and directed them to head down the main tunnel in front of them.

There were two smaller off shoot pipes on either side of them, but the larger was the more reasonable option.

Sirius came to stand beside Harry and put his hand on his shoulder. "Time to close your eyes." His eyes weren't dancing with their usual mischievous twinkle. He had a slight smile on his face, but his worry was evident. The thrill of this experience was also competing for dominance in his expression.

Harry's eyes and expression must have been conveying his own worry. He looked over to Hermione and Remus. She locked eyes with him for a moment and put her hand on Remus' shoulder before closing her eyes.

"You'll close your eyes at the first sign of movement as well, right?" Harry stated more than asked. He finally had a guardian he could trust and look up to, he didn't need him becoming a ghost and haunting the toilets at the school as well. Though he'd probably just team up with Peeve's and terrorize the school, whispering incorrect answers to students while they sat their NEWTS and misleading first years.

"I will." He promised. "I told Ginny I'd make sure we got out of here unscathed. Can't have her angry at me."

"Is that what you whispered to her yesterday?" Harry grinned. He hadn't asked her what it was Sirius said that made her relax slightly.

Sirius nodded. "Now, close your eyes so we can get the bad part over with and get to the good." He smirked.

Harry closed his eyes and put his hand on Sirius' shoulder. "What is the good exactly?"

"A long-lost tunnel under the school to discover. Ancient secrets, going down in history as the slayers of a Basilisk, and you can be damn sure I'm going to get some boots made out of that thing." He prattled off quietly.

Harry let out a laugh. His nerves were loosening as Sirius led them forward. He could hear the birds getting further down the tunnel ahead of them. Dumbledore was casting light down the tunnel as well from Harry's left. Slowly the group made their way forward. All those with their eyes open had their gaze cast down at the floor. Harry strained his ears for any hissing that he might be able to understand, but there was nothing but the roosters and heavy footsteps.

His eyes weren't closed all the way. He could make out the ground through his lashes, only trying to make the journey a little more manageable. He was confident that even if he did hear a noise, he would close his eyes tight before instinctively looking up. The bones they had all been stepping on were no longer littered everywhere and the stones were visible beneath the small amount of dirt that had collected along the floor.

It had taken roughly ten minutes at their slow pace to get to the end of the tunnel. Harry could see that they were approaching a wall. Sirius placed his hand over Harry's. "You can look up now."

Raising his eyes, he stared in awe at the design of the circular vault style door before them. There were several snakes adorning it and wrought iron embellishments. It was very impressive. It was also closed.

"You think it might be locked in there?" Hermione asked behind him.

"It would explain why it hasn't been set on the school since Tom Riddle left." Dumbledore said.

"Poor thing mightn't ave seen the sun in decades." Hagrid shook his head. "We might be putin' it out of its misery."

Sirius let out a huff of amusement through his nose and Harry tried not to smile.

"Shall we summon the birds?" Albus requested.

Harry looked around. The tunnel they had just come through was still lit up from the charms. The birds had spread out but were getting summoned back by the others. He turned back to the door in front of him. "Should we maybe. I dunno, line up against the wall or something. In case it... jumps out at us?"

Without verbally agreeing each person took a few steps back to the damp walls of the tunnel and Harry focused on the snakes on the door, willing himself to believe them to be real, just as he had with the sink. "Ready?" He closed his eyes and waited for someone to object, hearing none. Shivers ran through his arm as he envisioned the snakes. "Open." He told the door, hearing the hissing more distinctively this time than he had a few minutes ago. He closed his eyes tight and heard the gears and pulleys loudly unlocking the vault door. It sounded like there were several levers being pulled back and scraping of metal on metal before the door groaned open. Keeping a snake image in his mind he called out. "Are you in there?" It seemed every time he used the language the distinction was growing.

"Anything?" Remus' voice asked.

Harry strained his ears and squeezed his eyes tighter as he listened. "No. I don't hear it at all."

"Stay where you are." Dumbledore warned.

Harry heard him walking around them and past him. There was a rustling of feathers and then several of the roosters cried out in tandem. For near a minute the roosters were crying before they stopped.

"Alright." Dumbledore said. "You may all open your eyes and come in now."

Harry opened his eyes and blinked them a few times. The chamber beyond the door looked like it had natural light in it. The roosters had all spread out in the room and Dumbledore was slowly making his way down the middle of the room.

It was an impressive room. The ceiling was near as high as the Great Hall. Three pipes lead out of the room on either side, and there was still water pooled along the sides of the floor, looking like it might run two inches deep. There was a chance that this room was modeled after the Great hall, as the size and lay out was approximate. Except that the Great Hall had a head table. This room simply had a head in place of it at the far end.

"I suppose that is in likeness to Slytherin himself." Hermione came up beside Harry.

"I assume so. Don't know that I've ever seen a picture of him." Harry responded. The two of them were directed to stay where they were as the others cast the roosters into the pipes and zapped them to make them cry out again.

Hermione didn't look impressed with the small amount of cruelty that was shown to the birds. Harry would rather that then have them be surprised by a snake that could kill them with its eyes. He was caught up staring at the statue though. He wanted to get closer and inspect it. The 'hair' that was carved for the head of Slytherin imitated that of snakes as well. He supposed there could be another hidden chamber beyond the about the chin on it made him think of a marionette doll.

Hagrid gave a wave forward for Harry and Hermione, indicating it should be safe. Harry couldn't take his eyes off the mouth of the statue. Moving down the center of the room he reached the edge of the floor before a large pool of water that stood between he and the massive statue. There were certainly lines down either side of the chin. The mouth had to open.

"Really hoping this might be the last one." Hermione said standing beside him. She too was staring at the mouth.

"Maybe it's already dead in there?" Harry asked hopefully. "The roosters were crying out for a while."

"It might be warded to be soundproof." She told him.

Harry looked to his left as Sirius came beside him. "Once more?" he asked with a fake smile on his face, resembling more of a cringe.

He waited until everyone wrangled another rooster. "Open." Harry hissed. But nothing happened. "Open mouth." he tried, still nothing. "Slytherin." He tried. "There must be a password or something." he said in English to everyone else.

"Try a few different things, Harry." Hermione told him. "Something about Purebloods maybe."

"Pureblood." Harry tried. Still nothing. "Release the beast from within." still nothing. In a moment of whimsy, he turned to Hermione with a grin. "Open Sesame." he hissed.

Everyone took a startled step back as the mouth began to lower. Harry's jaw dropped in surprise that that had worked.

Once the mouth of the statue was open fully, they all heard it. Something was in there and moving around. Something large.

"Hungry." Harry heard and his eyes went wide. "So hungry."

"It's in there." He said. "It's still alive, and it's hungry." he barely managed to say it above a whisper.

"Rip. Tear. Kill." The sound of movement was growing louder.

Harry took a step back and closed his eyes, but something heavy impacted his chest with force and he found himself airborne and flying backwards. Hagrid's yell of "Roosters. Now!" was the last thing he heard before the impact of hitting something behind him caused him to lose consciousness.

()()()

As Hermione and Remus disappeared from his sight Ron put his arm around Ginny.

He could tell she wasn't angry even though her expression and clenched jaw would make someone believe she was. Even yesterday, when she truly was angry, he could tell what it was really about. He'd seen that look on her face a few times before. Like when he and the twins had gotten into a fight one time and they pushed him in the pond, holding him under the water for a bit too. Not for long mind you, but long enough that Ginny lost it on them. She'd torn the twins a new one, then turned on him as well; telling him off for getting them so riled up.

It had all stemmed from worry.

Ginny really cared about Harry, and she wanted to be down there with him. Her presence beside him wouldn't have made a difference, of course, but he too wanted to be down there beside Hermione and making sure she was safe.

The two of them moved back against the wall and sank down to the floor, not saying anything but leaning on each other.

He hadn't said anything to Harry or Neville about what had happened between him and Hermione last night. He was still mixed up about it. His few weeks with Lavender had been nice and all, but it nagged at him the whole time they'd been going out how snogging her just wasn't as fulfilling as snogging Hermione had been, even when she let him put his hand up her shirt.

Lavender had been fairly annoying too. And she'd started calling him Won-Won. What the fuck was that? He'd seen some of her marks, he knew she wasn't a stupid girl. But she acted like a ditz all the time when they were together. He didn't like that she was putting on a show. He would have preferred she just be herself, but she hadn't been the whole time they'd gone out.

That was part of the reason he wasn't able to resist sending Hermione something for Valentine's Day too.

He'd spent time trying to get over her and move on, but he caught her expression sometimes when she saw other couples. After chatting with Neville and Harry about what they wanted to get their girls for Valentine's Day he didn't want Hermione to feel left out. And he still cared about her.

Honestly, he still wanted to be with her. He didn't care that she didn't want him to take their relationship to the next level. He could be content with snogging her and going back to his bed for a wank after. It's what he had been doing the whole first term anyways.

From her expression yesterday she really hadn't meant for him to interpret her reasons for the break-up how he had. How could she be so brilliant and so stupid at the same time?

Ginny rested her head on his shoulder, and he grasped her hand. "They're going to be fine." he kissed the top of her head. "Dumbledore is with them. And Hagrid. Hagrid can handle any dangerous creature."

"I wish we knew that for sure." she sighed.

He wished too. They should have set up some sort of signal, or communication method. They should have gone down there in teams or searched far and wide for someone else that was a Parselmouth, so it wasn't just Harry they were relying on. Harry was great and all, and Ron didn't doubt him, but he would have preferred someone with experience and not so close to him and Ginny be the one to put their life in danger.

It might seem cold blooded. But it was true.

He was a little mad at Hermione that she was insistent on going down there too. She didn't have to put herself in danger like that.

He was mad at himself for not kissing her one last time before she went down there too. It would have been a little awkward in front of his professors and headmaster, but it would give him and Ginny something to talk about to take their minds off what was possibly going on down there.

"Mione kissed me yesterday." he blurted out.

Ginny's head came up abruptly and she stared at him with wide eyes. "What?!"

"Yeah. She kissed me and I didn't take it too well." he admitted sheepishly.

Her eyebrows went up slightly. "You didn't want her to kiss you?"

"I... well. I don't know. I'm confused a bit I guess."

"Was it a peck on the cheek, or lips, or a full-on snog?"

"Full on snog. She. She kissed me and told me that she really broke up with me because she's a prude and thought I'd cheat on her." It was embarrassing to admit it, but he was close with Ginny. She wouldn't take the mickey.

It looked like this was working as a nice distraction for her too. She'd had a little red on her cheeks because she was stopping herself from crying, something she always tried to hide from him and their brothers. Now the red was spreading out over her face and it was an angry red. Ron personally would take angry Ginny over emotional Ginny any day, particularly if the anger was directed at someone else. Emotional Ginny he didn't know what to do with.

"She what?" Her voice was dangerously low. "How could she think that?"

"She didn't tell you any of this?" Ron asked her seriously. Girls were known to talk and share a hell of a lot more than boys. He thought there might have been a chance that Hermione had told her last night in their dorm room, or this morning.

A bashful look crossed Ginny's face. "Um. I didn't get back until late."

"Right." Ron nodded and rested his head back against the wall. He'd been blocking out the times Harry came back to the dorm room late, or when missing for periods of time. Not letting himself think about why, or what his friend had been getting up to, and with whom. So long as Ginny was happy, he'd keep on not thinking about it.

"I'm just not sure what to do." He told her. "I still really like her. I never stopped. Apparently, she never stopped either."

"I warned her not to mess you around." Ginny shook her head.

"You did?" Ron grinned. He knew full well that if he said something to a guy about messing her around, she'd get all defensive and haughty, but her warning a girl about playing with his feelings, that was rather cute.

Ginny gave a strong nod and sat up to cross her legs and look at him directly. "I told her our first week here that if she broke your heart, I'd break her face."

Ron snorted. "That's brilliant." he was relaxing slightly. "Don't break her face though. I quite like it."

"Fine." Ginny gave a one-sided shrug. "Maybe I'll just charm a few books to fly around and beat her scrawny arse for a bit."

He chuckled at the image. "Much better."

Ginny came back beside him and rested her head on his shoulder while they thought up different hilarious forms of punishment for Hermione.

()()()

**AN- Bet you thought I'd leave you with a cliff-hanger. NOPE.**

()()()

There must have been some kind of silencing spell that protected the Basilisk from hearing the cry of the roosters while it was in its lair. Perhaps it had been so deep in slumber that the sound of the birds coupled with the stone enclosure had protected the beast. Either way, it was dead now.

The beast was dead, and Harry was in a great amount of pain. He managed to get to his feet shakily while clutching the back of his head. Drawing his hand away he saw that he had managed to get a cut from the stone he landed against. There was blood coming from the wound. As soon as he saw that, coupled with the massive ache at the front part of his brain he fell forward to his knees and promptly threw up. That probably meant he had a concussion. He let out a groan, hoping that would be enough to call one of the others over and cast some spell to help ease the pain. Make his head right again.

A strong arm slipped under his arm pit and hoisted him up. "Sorry, Harry," it was Sirius. "Acted on instinct."

There was a flash of light that Harry registered through his closed eyes and he felt much better, still not quite right, but much better. "It was your instinct to blast me against the wall?" he asked.

"The beast was coming out of the passageway or whatever you want to call it, I didn't want you to accidentally look in its eyes." Sirius reasoned.

"My eyes were closed!" he argued. That had been the reason he hadn't seen Sirius' spell coming at him after all. He'd closed his eyes tight once they'd all heard the snake moving, next thing he knew he was flying through the air and in a great amount of pain.

Harry managed to blink his eyes back open then and took in the scene before him. None of the others had been injured, Hermione seemed in shock, but the other three were regarding the dead snake with great interest. It was still stuck mostly in the mouth of the statue, but its head was submerged in the pool of water at the base.

"Hagrid got the roosters to cry out again once the snakes head was out of the statue." Sirius explained.

Harry didn't manage to do anything more than raise his eyebrows and nod. Hermione collected herself and came to his side. "Are you alright?"

"Not completely." he was still quite dizzy. Putting his hand to the back of his head again he checked to see if he was still losing blood.

Hermione pursed her lips and went around to the other side of him and pulled his hand away, sucking in a sharp breath before muttering some spells. Harry felt his wound grow cold then warm; the warmth radiated down his spine. It was quite a pleasant feeling actually.

"That will have to do for now." Hermione stated and came around to stand beside him and take his other arm. "We'll get you to Madame Pomphrey when we go back up to the school. Tell her you missed one of the trick steps or something."

Harry nodded and offered his thanks. "You guys don't have to hold me up anymore." he told them awkwardly. It was nice that they were so concerned about him, but their combined healing spells had done the job for now. They reluctantly let go of his arms and he moved towards the snake.

"The properties that can be harvested from this." Remus had been saying.

"The skin alone." Hagrid agreed.

"I believe the blood would be the most valuable." The Headmaster sounded eager.

"Come now." Sirius said loudly with a smile on his face. "The thing has only just died. Shouldn't we hold a vigil or something before discussing the slicing and dicing?" he joked. Whether it was adrenaline that hadn't yet worn off, or exuberance over just how valuable a Basilisk of this size would be to the magical community Remus and Dumbledore chuckled at that.

"I was just saying that we will have to get the Goblins involved in this." Dumbledore told him. "They will be able to retrieve the most from the beast with minimal waste." he turned to Hermione and Harry. "And they will also be to determine division of profits."

"I'd like to be there when you meet with them." Hermione stated instantly.

Dumbledore inclined his head with a question in his eyes. "I assure, in cases such as this they are very thorough with documentation, and you will be provided copies. I will site both Mister Potter and you as the discoverers of the Chamber."

Hermione shook her head in disregard. "You misunderstand. I would simply like to have an understanding of the process for brokering such an agreement with the Goblins. The profits from the Basilisk, my share at least, I plan to use a percentage of that to go towards certain improvements needed around the school anyways. I'm not concerned with whether it would be a fair deal."

Harry smirked at Hermione. He could only imagine what she had in mind for improvements around the school. Probably more resources in the library or something to do with the Muggle Studies classes. It did get him thinking though. If he got any profits, maybe it would be enough to get new brooms for the Quidditch teams. Slytherin all had Nimbus 2001's, he could get them for the three other teams too. And gear. Basilisk hide gloves might be better than dragon hide gloves.

It was decided that they would leave the snake as it was, head below water, body half in the tunnel. It was safest that they didn't levitate it out in case it's gaze still held some potency after death.

Headmaster Dumbledore was going to reach out to the Goblins as soon as they were back above ground.

They left the roosters down there for the time being and headed back to the chute they came down.

"We'll come back down here and explore, right?" Harry asked Remus as they headed back. The tunnel was still lit up, but only the route they'd taken.

Remus nodded. "We'll get it all mapped out. He could have left more down here than the Basilisk. It is likely that this could have been his club house of sorts."

Harry peered down the dark tunnels to his left and right as they walked. He would have liked to start exploring them right away, but Ginny would probably kill him if he didn't get back as soon as he could. He also needed to get checked out by the nurse. It was great that Sirius' first reaction had been to protect him, but he could have done a gentler job of it. It felt like he'd landed on his wrist funny as well, it twinged when he moved it a certain way.

Hermione was ahead of him chatting away with the Headmaster about all the parts and properties of the Basilisk that would be most important, and the shelf life for the blood and such so it could be saved for the future. She wound up riding back up to the castle on his broom, both still talking away.

Ginny wrapped herself around him as soon as he touched down in the girl's bathroom. "Everyone is alright?"

He nodded and winced as he moved the broom in his hand a funny way.

"You don't look so great, mate." Ron pointed out and gestured to some of the blood that had dried to his shirt.

"Yeah." he grimaced. "Sirius got a little over enthusiastic about protecting me."

Sirius touched down beside him. "I'd do it again too."

"What, toss me back against a wall when my eyes are closed?" he teased.

"Yes." he gave him a cheeky grin. "Now, let's get you to the Hospital Wing and checked out. You can tell her what happened along the way."

Ginny took Harry's Firebolt from him and put his arm around her neck. He didn't need the assistance but couldn't complain about having her tucked up against his side. Ron hung back as Remus and Hermione came out of the pipe.


	26. Stories and Ideas

**()()()**

**Chapter 26- Stories and Ideas**

**()()()**

**A Tale of Merope By George H.M. Rannier **

_Once upon a time there lived a family in a humble shack in a small wood on the outskirts of a small town. This family consisted only of a father with his son and daughter. The son and father were very alike, in that they were rather unlikable and weren't amenable to society._

_No, in fact the two men of the family had shunned society, thinking themselves 'better than' and not even attempting to interact with any outside their shack. Even to each other they weren't very talkative. __The father you see believed himself to be a great man from a great lineage, as was taught to him by his father, and his father before him. As such, that is how he raised his own son._

_Generations before the father this family had been great, they had been prestigious, and their word had been taken as law. They had special magical abilities that were passed down through the first son's and great family fortunes and heirlooms to remind them of this._

_As time went on, however, and each new first son began making poor choices, financially and otherwise, the family slowly fell from grace until it was just the three of them in the humble shack in the small wood on the outskirts of the small town._

_Little by little the family began to lose a bit of themselves as well. Keeping the bloodlines close had been seen as a way to keep the family secrets within the family, however through the generations this particular family's tree being kept so close a funny thing happened. The offspring started losing their magic._

_The family was not yet producing Squibs, but unfortunately their overall abilities were growing weak. __The father of this particular family had attended Hogwarts, but only making it through to his third year before leaving in shame. __His inability to continue his magical education would have been more shameful had more of his family been around to witness it. They were not however._

_The father grew up to become a man, getting by by doing odd jobs here in there of the manual sort. Eventually he settled down into the shack he lived in and married his second cousin at his remaining family's insistence._

_The father's wife produced two children for him, and those children grew up in that humble shack in the small wood on the outskirts of the small town, never knowing if there should have been more to their life._

_The son was quite content to live his life where he was. Remaining miserable and magically stunted with only his family history for his lessons and that special ability that had been passed down the family line to him as the first male of his generation._

_The daughter however was prone to dreaming of more._

_Her whole life had consisted of picking up after her father and brother. Once her mother had passed on it was her sole responsibility to take up the traditional female role in the house. __It was as she would be staring out the window towards the manor home on the other side of the small town that she would daydream of him._

_This him of course was the Lord of the land's son. __This young lord was a very becoming man. He was attractive, educated and well mannered. Everything the daughter wished for. __She would watch for him, this young lord, when he would go out for his daily rides. She would try to catch his eye and have him be intrigued by her enough to stop to talk with her._

_This was not something that would happen naturally, however. You see the young man was a Muggle Lord and raised to think of the little destitute family living on their land not worth their time. The family of three was simply a scourge they could not be rid of._

_The daughter knew she could make the lord see reason however, for as limited as her magic was, she did have the ability to brew a potion. A love potion._

_One day as the young lord was riding through the wood, she stopped him and offered him a drink, stating he must be parched from his ride._

_The lord did drink, and he suddenly found himself completely enamored with the daughter. So much so that he kept returning to visit her day after day, and she continued to have him drink from her goblet day after day, until finally they eloped._

_It was all the daughter had dreamed of. She was the wife of the lord that she had been in love with, and soon enough she was the pregnant wife of the lord!_

_The lord's family did not understand the pairing but couldn't deny that their son was truly in love with the daughter. They could see it in the way her looked at her and spoke of her._

_As her pregnancy ran its course however the daughter found she no longer wanted him to love her only because of the potion she'd been making him drink, she wanted him to love her for real. And so, she stopped giving him the love potion._

_As the potion wore off the young Lord could not understand what had brought him to marry the vagrant girl from the woods. Regardless of her current state of being with his child, he cast her out and annulled their marriage wanting never to see her again._

_Bereft, the daughter returned to her father and brother, but they too wanted nothing to do with her. She had consorted and married a Muggle after all, and her family had been Pureblood through and through until that point._

_In an act of desperation, she stole from her father a family heirloom and ran away to London to try and find work and accommodation for herself._

_Unfortunately, the daughter's life went from bad to worse as she was turned away from place after place when she was in search of shelter and employment. She pawned her family heirloom, receiving very little of it's worth, and resorted to returning to the Muggle world at the end of her pregnancy._

_A Muggle orphanage was where the daughter was resigned to having her child. A son in fact. The first of his generation and the second of his name._

_As the last decision that the daughter made before passing away from the ailments of her childbirth was to name him after his Muggle father, in hopes the young Lord might find him one day._

()()()

"It does read as a traditional fairy tale." Dumbledore observed.

"Good. That was the way I intended it." Hermione beamed. She'd had Luna read it over first and make a few changes, adding a few flourishes as well. Luna had a knack for inserting fantasy into her real life, she'd done that for the story of Merope as well. Now Hermione was hoping that Dumbledore would approve of her publishing the story.

She wasn't looking for his permission though. She was an adult with a publication willing to put her story in it. As she wasn't looking for any monetary compensation for her story; the Quibbler, Xenophilius Lovegood really, was more than happy to put her story in there. He didn't yet know what the stories would really be about, but Luna assured her that he wouldn't have any issues when it came to the finale of adding that bit in as well.

Hermione had brought her story along with her when she and Harry came with him to discuss the progress on the Goblin's harvesting of the Basilisk. They had been there as the contracts were drawn up. The Goblins had been eager to get started and as they had demanded 20% of the profits made off the beast for themselves, she knew that they would be ensuring that all parts retrieved would go for a high market price. She and Harry were each negotiated down to 30%, the school receiving 20%. She had been the one to demand a fair share go to Harry, he'd been against it, but without him they wouldn't have been able to get into the Chamber, nor find the snake.

Either way they were set to make a large amount off the body of the snake. The Chamber itself belonged to the school as it was made by one of the founders and lay underneath it.

Professor Lupin and Sirius had gone back down there with Harry and mapped out the labyrinth of tunnels. Harry hadn't been able to find anything else down there, like secret rooms or any kind of manifesto left behind by a school aged Tom Riddle. He'd looked put out by that, but the light of excitement had been shining in his eyes about doing the mapping with the two men as they told him more about all they'd had to do to map the school when they were students.

The girl's toilet had been officially closed. The students were all told that it would be undergoing renovations.

Ginny and Ron got a chance to see the space before the Goblins had moved in to deal with the snake. Harry and she snuck Neville and Luna down there as well. Luna had been as speechless through the whole adventure as the rest of them. Hermione herself had found it as shocking to see the Basilisk the second time as it had been the first. It was just so large!

The Headmaster had just told she and Harry that he planned to keep the find quiet for as long as possible. Both of them knew that he believed Voldemort was still out there, he probably wouldn't be too happy about his secret chamber and beast being no longer a secret.

Once she was finished with her articles though there would be very little that the public wouldn't know about Tom Marvolo Riddle though, and that made her maliciously happy.

"I was wondering." Hermione started. "You knew Tom Riddle when he was a student here."

"I did."

"Would you be willing to share one of your memories of him with me?" she asked. "Only, I know you have a Pensive, and it would help to see what it was about him that drew people to him. Made them believe his ideals and listen to him."

The Headmaster stared at her intently while he contemplated her question.

"I wouldn't mind seeing that either." Harry spoke up from beside her. "And, I know you showed some memories to Sirius over the Christmas Holidays. I wondered if you would show those to me as well?"

There was a flash of pain in Dumbledore's eyes. "I have been waiting for you to ask, Harry. Expecting it rather. And I have decided I would like to show you, but Miss Granger." he turned to her. "I do need some time to contemplate showing you any memories."

"But." she started, if Harry was able to see them, what harm could it do for her to as well?

"I am not saying no." he placated. "I simply would like to think over any negative ramifications that may come from this. I know it would help your stories greatly, and I would like you to have as much information as I can provide, because you are right. When you came in here after the break and stated your case it made sense. The shroud of mystery that he created around himself only helped to spread the terror he'd created. Exposing him, his history and everything he'd done to ensure he was revered in our society, if we tore down the shroud then there is less of a chance that if he came back he would have the same impact."

Hermione felt hopeful at that. She cast a glance to Harry, from his expression she knew what the reason was for their Headmaster to withhold information. Probably to do with what he and Sirius had discovered over the holidays. She had a suspicion that Harry's godfather might be trying to narrow down where Voldemort fled to after Halloween 1981.

He'd agreed to let her see the school records; she was sure that he would eventually allow her to see his memories too. "How long before you believe you will be able to make a decision about it?"

He gave her a pleased smile. "One week. I will have another report from the Goblins then as well."

"Alright. Thank you." she stood up and Harry came with her.

Halfway back to Gryffindor Tower she stopped Harry and checked the nearest classroom to see if it was occupied before tugging him inside and closing the door. "If he doesn't tell me, will you?" she asked impatiently.

"Tell you what he showed me in the memories?" he asked unnecessarily, seeming concerned at the thought.

"Yes." she exasperated. "Come on Harry. I've done all this research and I want these articles to be as detailed and accurate as possible. Ginny knows what it is that you are keeping from me. You've known me longer; I've been here for you since we first stepped foot in this school. If you are holding back this information because you resent me not realizing how bad your home life was or something-"

"Whoa!" he cut her off. "I don't resent you! Hermione, you were one of my first friends. I'd love to be able to share this with you. Ginny's been nagging me to tell you, but it really isn't up to me to share this information. You heard it from Sirius himself. If you get Dumbledore to agree to show you those memories, then I'll tell you everything. But until then I just. I can't." he finished.

She observed him for any sign falsity, studying every worry line and flicker of emotion in his eyes before she sagged down onto the closest bench seat in defeat. "Well. Fine." she sighed.

Harry took up in the bench seat beside her and put an arm over her shoulders. "One week he said."

She nodded. "One week." she was glad he'd been keeping it from her for a larger reason than resentment. "Ginny's been nagging me to tell you all that I've discovered about him as well." she started quietly. "I guess it would only be fair."

"It would make it so we'll have less to discuss in a week anyhow." he said keenly.

She turned to study his face once more. They had been pretty close since they first started school, they'd always been there for each other. He and Neville were really her first friends too and their transition into adulthood had been pulling them all in different direction, but it felt so natural too. Little by little they had all been getting invested in their other interests and she had to wonder if she could read him as easily now as she would have this time last year. So much had happened since then, in his life in particular.

He still looked like the same Harry that had fended off bully's for Neville and let her cry on his shoulder when girls had been mean. The same boy that needed her help when it came to the Yule Ball in their fourth year and teamed up with Neville to tell her off about the time turner she'd been using in third year that caused her to have a bit of a break-down.

He was still the same, but there was just more to him. She could see the earnest in his eyes and the thoughtfulness of his expression. He was like a brother to her, or a cousin at least. And she trusted him. Whatever it was he was keeping from her he wouldn't have done it unless it was really important.

"Let's get back to Gryffindor then." she nodded.

()()()

Ginny, Ron and Neville looked up from their assignments when Harry and Hermione came through the portrait hole. "Alright?" Ron asked them.

"Yes, everything was sorted out with the Goblins." Hermione slid into the seat next to him.

Ginny caught how Hermione was leaning closer to him than she would have a few weeks ago. She couldn't help narrowing her eyes slightly at her friend. So far as she knew Ron hadn't made up his mind yet if he wanted to get back with her. She saw the longing there, but understood his hesitation as well. She was trying not to get involved but was angry at Hermione about it all.

"Alright?" Harry asked her quietly.

Turning to him she felt her slight animosity fade and warmth from his gaze wash over her. "Alright." she told him and leaned over for a kiss.

"Talked to Hermione, she's giving in to your nagging." he teased with a waggle of his eyebrows and a cheeky grin.

"Really?" She looked back over at the girl who was now explaining the deal worked out with the Goblin's. Ginny didn't care too much about it, she was just glad the thing was dead. Seeing it for herself had been rather frightening. It was HUGE! It had to be centuries old and starving at the time they'd found it and if one curious eye in the group of them that went down there had taken a peek it would have been awful.

"Yeah." he started playing with the end of a lock of her hair. "We'll head up to our dorm in a minute and she said she'll bring her research over. I want Ron and Neville to know too."

She put a hand on his leg to show her support. "I don't like keeping secrets from our friends. I'm glad you've convinced her to tell you."

He gave a sigh of relief. "Yeah. Thanks for wearing her down first."

Ginny chuckled and Harry leaned over to ask Neville to come up to the dorm with the two of them, nodding at Hermione so she would understand.

The three of them headed up first and went into the dorm room. Ginny settled herself back against Harry's pillow while he sat at the end of the bed and they were listening to Neville talking about his work in Greenhouse five when the door from the loo opened and Seamus walked in with just a towel wrapped around his waist. He nodded at Harry and Neville but must not have seen Ginny there because he went over to his dresser and whipped off his towel, tossing it on the bed.

Ginny bit her lip to stop from chuckling as her eyes were refusing to look away from his backside. He had quite a plump bum! He was pale all over and she couldn't help noticing how the light hair that started at his ankles went up much higher than Harry's did. There was less of it on his bum, but it stopped just above his tail bone. Any thicker and she'd think he was half fawn.

Harry and Neville stopped talking. "Er, Seamus?" Neville managed awkwardly. It had the opposite effect that he was going for though because it caused the boy to turn around.

Yep, her eyes went there.

He was flaccid though. And uncut. She couldn't help the tilt that came to her head as she got an eyeful. She'd seen Harry's before, obviously, and there were a few unfortunate incidents with her brothers over the years that she'd quickly covered her eyes over, but she couldn't help looking. "Hey Seamus," she grinned. "Nice to see you."

"Ginny!" He cried and grabbed his towel. "What are you doing in here?" he asked once he was covered up. He didn't look embarrassed too much, just surprised.

"Sorry." Harry cringed. "I didn't know you were up here having a shower. We'll go somewhere else." he started to get up.

"Nah." Seamus chuckled and waved him off. "Not a problem. You'll be putting in a good word for me, won't you." he winked at Ginny.

Ginny laughed. "Sure, Seamus. Very impressive."

"Yeah? Good enough for an orchard?" He waggled his eyebrows.

The smile slipped off her face then. "What was that?" He knew about the orchard. Her eyes shot over to Harry, who was now staring daggers at Seamus. She swallowed deeply. Had he been coming back to the dorm and telling them about... everything?

"I told you I'd hurt you if you ever brought that up." Harry growled at him.

"Oi, you're the one bringing your girlfriend up here and letting her get an eyeful of my goods. Figured the least I could do was even it out a bit, unless she wants to give me a flash as well." Seamus argued.

He had to take a step back as Harry stood up and pulled his wand out of his pocket. Neville jumped in front of him though. "Come on, mate." he said to Harry. "Seamus, can you just grab your clothes and get dressed in the loo?"

"Fine," Seamus turned back to his drawers and slammed them open and shut before stomping off to the loo again and slamming that door too.

Harry was still glaring at the door as he sat back down. Neville took his seat as well and cast a worried glance at Ginny.

She had a whole mix of emotions rolling through her. She and Harry had been intimate in a multitude of locations. They'd done all sorts of things together that she'd felt entirely comfortable doing with him, but she didn't need other people knowing about it. Didn't WANT other people knowing about it. It was private. Their first time in the orchard had been special to her, she thought it had been the same for him too.

"Ginny." Neville's voice cut through her daze. "It wasn't Harry that mentioned it. He hasn't been talking about the two of you."

Harry stopped glaring at the loo door and his head whipped around to her. "No!" he looked distraught. "No. I didn't say anything, it was-" he cut himself off.

"It was who?" she felt like crying. She hated crying, but she was hurt. Seamus knew about them. He knew, so Dean knew, that meant that the girls in her dorm were going to know. Harry would get a reputation as a player or something, but she'd be getting slut shamed.

The door opened and Ron and Hermione came in, the latter carrying a thick folder. She must have read the room right away. "What happened?"

"Ron." Harry growled. "Would you like to explain to Ginny why Seamus just mentioned something about an _orchard_ to her?"

Ron's steps faltered and he stared at her with eyes wide and mouth open. "Uh..."

"Ron?" Ginny asked. What on heaven and earth would motivate Harry to share that with her brother? Or for her brother to pass that information along to his dorm mates.

Ron's cheeks colored furiously. "I'm sorry." he cringed. "I, we threatened them against ever mentioning it."

"How do YOU know?" A switch flipped inside her sending her from sad to irritated in the time it took to draw a single breath.

"Oh, like you tried to hide it." Ron argued defensively. "You know I can see the orchard from my room. Those tree's shake Ginny."

Oh, she realized. He'd 'seen' them. Well, not seen them, but inferred what they'd been doing. The view Ron would have had from his room he would have only been able to see the branches shaking. "But. Why would you mention it to Seamus?"

"Look," he threw his hands up in defense. "Harry and I were just talking, and he and Dean overheard. We swore we'd injure them or hex them if that ever got out. I don't need anyone talking about you like that."

"Except for you?" she yelled. "What Harry and I get up to when we're alone together is between us. If he does mention something to you in confidence, I expect you to keep your trap shut." she rounded on Neville. "You too."

"Ginny." Harry shifted down the bed and took her hands in his. "I haven't been talking to anyone about it." his eyes were portraying his distaste for the idea. He cupped the side of her face and lowered his voice to a whisper. "I haven't been bragging, I swear. The guys have all been able to tell when you and I have been alone together, but I swear to you they can only guess what we've been getting up to."

She wished they could be alone together right then. Neville was looking like he would like to disappear into the floor and Ron and Hermione were both fidgeting uncomfortably.

She blamed herself a bit for this too. Before Christmas she'd told him that he should start sharing things with his friends, that included relationship things. She and Hermione had had a rather candid discussion a few months back and she'd simply trusted her to keep it to herself. It had just been such a surprise to hear it come out of Seamus' mouth. Seamus and Harry weren't close friends, that made it entirely different.

"Ginny?" he leaned closer, so their foreheads were touching. "Ginny, please believe me. I would never."

"Yeah." she nodded. "Yeah, I believe you." she told him quietly. He looked so worried, leaning forward she gave him a soft kiss. "It's fine. I was just shocked, that's all." That was true, Harry had sounded so sincere and appalled by the idea that he might be coming up to his dorm and 'bragging' about their adventures that she was able to relax again.

"Why would Seamus even bring that up?" Ron asked.

Ginny chuckled. "I man have saw him in his birthday suit." she told Ron.

"What?" Ron asked dumbfounded. "How- Why?"

"He came in from the loo and dropped his towel." Neville explained, he was clearly glad they'd all moved on from that awkward situation. "Didn't notice her before then."

"What's a 'birthday suit'?" Hermione asked innocently.

That got them all laughing. It took her another moment before her cheeks tinged pink and she clued in.

()()()

Remus trailed his fingers over her side. It was lovely waking to see her in the morning light coming through the window of her flat. He hadn't felt this great in years. So free and happy. He had his best friend back, he had an academic task to work on and he had an amazing girlfriend.

Girlfriend.

She was his girlfriend. This amazing, young, fit woman was his girlfriend. And it had been her to claim that title, she hadn't waited around for him to ask her if that's what this was. He rather felt like a blushing awkward teenager when it came to relationship talks. The sex part he had down crystal freaking clear.

He'd been so relieved that she hadn't had any issues with how his impulses had been taking over for that activity. She'd been rather keen on it; she'd even confided that she'd been too conservative in her previous relationships in asking for it to be just like that. Of course, what could he do after receiving that bit of information than take her again.

It was these mornings though that he loved. He'd only managed to stay the night with her a few times, waking up beside her made him feel like he didn't have a care in the world. He knew right now that she wasn't completely asleep; he'd heard the change in her breathing as he began caressing her side. He couldn't resist though, there was this lovely dip below her ribs before the curve of her hips and he had to touch it. Then he had to press himself flush against her back and move his hands to cup her breasts, lower his head to kiss her neck, smell that comforting scent of her; warmth and sleep were somehow a scent of their own that occupied his oral faculties on these mornings.

He pulled back from her neck and looked down to see she was smiling with her eyes closed. He kissed along her shoulder and rested his head there as she became more awake. She gave a stretch and moaned, shifting away from him to lay on her back. Her hand came up into his hair and she gave a slow scratch there as her eyes opened. "You're a lovely sight in the morning."

"I was just thinking the same thing." he grinned and lay his head down just above her breast.

It was a Sunday morning and they were in no hurry to get anywhere. It was the one weekend a month where she wasn't on duty and he'd arranged to not be in charge of detentions or patrols, there was two weeks until the next Full Moon as well, so he was in good shape without potions. He'd taken her out for a proper date the previous night, a Muggle one; dinner and a movie. It had been fun, particularly when she found the movie slightly uninteresting and started snogging him instead of watching it. Her father was a Muggleborn, so it wasn't a new and illuminating experience for her to be at the cinema.

He traced a finger over a few beauty marks that were on her chest. He was so comfortable here with her. He didn't want to do anything but lay there all day.

"Coffee." she murmured, her hand still working over his scalp. "Food. Sustenance."

"Then more shagging."

Her chuckles vibrated through her chest to his cheek. "Yes. When do you have to be back at the school?"

"Dinner at least." he cupped her breast and started massaging it, tracing circles around the areola and tweaking her pebbled nipple gently. "How badly do you need coffee right now?" His mouth moved to the nipple on her other breast and he moved to situate himself between her legs.

Both her hands moved into his hair then and down to his neck, massaging along the way and encouraging him along. "I think I can manage to live a little longer without."

He hummed and rubbed his hand up and down her thigh to bring her leg up around him. "How much longer?" he teased.

"About seven or eight inches." she rolled her hips.

He looked up at her with a smirk. He hadn't ever been able to figure out if was her pheromones that got him going all the time, or the other way around. The initial desire was there, but that she was always ready for him, he found that amazing.

He hooked his arm under her leg and brought it up over his shoulder before lowering himself between her legs and kissing along the outline of her curls. "How much longer?" he queried smugly. She loved it when he went down on her, he knew she'd stave off breakfast so long as he was having himself a feast between her thighs.

"Yes please," her hips bucked again in anticipation.

Remus grinned. She was a wanton little minx, and he loved it. He traced his thumb over her most sensitive area, dipping it inside her before circling it over her clit and hearing her whimper with want. It was music to his ears. Delving his head lower he took her in his mouth. He rolled and flicked his tongue against her just how he'd learned she liked as her hips rocked with his movements. Pulling up the top sheet over him he drew it over his head and up to her chest. He wanted to be completely encompassed by the scent of her.

Every clench of her thighs, roll of her hips and pant from her lips was encouraging him along and making him crazy with want. There were things he wanted to do to her that he hadn't done yet. Things he didn't know if she'd be up for, or think were okay. But he couldn't help fantasizing about doing them to her.

Drawing his hand up to just by his chin he dipped a finger into her; swirling it around in her hot wetness. He wasn't sure how she'd react to this next part, but he wouldn't know until he tried. Pulling his finger out of her slowly he traced the pad of that finger around her rear entrance. He could hear her heart beating faster and her breath hitching, she was excited, and she wasn't stopping him. Slowly he teased her there as his tongue continued lapping at her clit. She pressed her hips down, causing him to put more pressure against her anus.

He grinned and pressed on, inserting his finger just a little bit into her there then stopping and only using his tongue on her. Then he moved his finger forwards a little more, then more.

She was rocking back against it, making him pump it in and out of her. Her movements grew desperate and he could tell she was getting close to cumming for him. She started cursing and panting above him, thrusting her hips against his mouth, then back down onto his finger and repeating the movement.

"YES!" she screamed.

He immediately moved his mouth from her clit to her vagina to lap up the delicious nectar her orgasm brought about. He groaned at the taste of her and slowly eased his finger out of her before kissing his way up her body, groaning louder when he pushed his raging erection into her. She was like a hot, wet velvet glove.

"Liked that did you?" he purred in her ear as he thrust into her with steady slow movements. Her only response was an expletive and weak arms coming around his middle to hold on lazily to his lower back. He was proud of how good he'd managed to get her, now he was going to take his time getting his cock massaged by her.

It felt so good to have her wrapped around him while he took his time. He wanted to build her up again before he got his. Feeling her clamping down around him when she came was incredible. It took a minute, but her energy came back and she braced her arms and legs around him tighter and rocked back against him. She kissed along his jaw to his ear. "Do it again." she whispered in his ear.

He gave a hard thrust into her at that. He'd been wanting to go slow and take his time, but that wasn't going to happen now. She'd been rather wet and his movements in and out of her caused some of that wetness to trail down, giving him plenty of lubrication to push his finger back inside her. She cried out in pleasure and her nails raked down his back.

The angle was slightly awkward, but the image in his mind of it being a different part of his anatomy where his finger was was making his pleasure centers fire on all cylinders. It wasn't long before he felt the familiar fluttering of her walls about to compress around him again.

Her back arched against him as her second orgasm took over her. He withdrew his finger and gripped her hip holding her in place as he thrust into her with vigor until spilling himself inside her with a loud groan. "God you feel good." he moaned into her neck as he held her to him as the last waves of pleasure coursed through him.

"That was..." she trailed off.

"Yes?" he asked nervously. She'd enjoyed it, he knew that, but it was still a line that had been crossed there.

"'Mazing." she sighed contentedly.

"It was okay?" He pulled up to rest on his elbows. He needed to see her face to see if she'd been truly okay with it. The satisfied smirk on her face was assurance enough for him.

"Bit awkward to use words for that one, isn't it?" her tongue was sticking out slightly between her teeth.

He snickered. "Yes, asking if you were okay with me sticking a finger up your arse would be an odd conversation." He buried his face in her neck.

"Bit surprised how much I liked it actually." she murmured.

He withdrew and lay down beside her. "So, you've never done that before?"

"No," she shook her head. "But it was. It felt really good." she blushed.

He appreciated how far down her blush went. She was already flush from the sex and she wasn't hiding anything with her skills. He'd asked her not to change anything about her features when they were together. He didn't want her pretending to be anything, he wanted to see every beauty mark and scar that she had. They'd been together for two months now and he felt that he had a good sense of who she really was, and he was very much falling in love with her. That was something that had only happened to him once before and it had been when he was in school. He'd been too immature then though to know what it all meant. With Dora it all felt real though.

He gave a swallow. "So, does that mean that you're open to…" It really was awkward to say these questions out loud.

"I mean," she looked down and bit her lip nervously. "I'm not saying 'no', but maybe we could, build our way up to it?"

"Yeah?" he felt relieved. It wasn't that he was desperate for it, but he couldn't help wanting to try things with her. "You can say no though, you know, that right?"

She met his eyes and smiled. "I know." her finger traced the side of his face. "I like that you want to do all kinds of depraved things to me." she grinned and pushed him to lay on his back before she straddled and sat astride him. "How is it that you are so dominating in bed, and come off as so meek everywhere else?"

Years of practice, he thought. That answer would only spur on more questions. "You just make me turn into a sex crazed maniac." he ran his hands up and down her sides.

She leaned down and gave him a final kiss before hopping off the bed. "Coffee time." she pulled his button down on and left him there as she went to the kitchen.

Remus gave a sigh. He didn't know when he should tell her. She'd have to know soon. They'd been together through two cycles already. He figured it might be something to talk to Sirius about, see what he suggested.

()()()

"Do her parents know about the two of you?" Sirius asked him.

"Uh... no." Remus hadn't even thought about telling her parents. He didn't have any, it hadn't even crossed his mind. Which was ridiculous because he'd met her at her parent's home. He knew Andromeda as well from the past war efforts, and Ted had been a great host. How would they take it that he was a thirty-five-year-old dating their twenty-four-year-old daughter? Would they think he was being lecherous?

"Whoa, calm down." Sirius nudged his shoulder after seeing the color drain from his face. He'd come over through to Remus' suite for a night cap. He told him all about what Harry had shared with him about the meeting with the Goblins.

It was great that they were getting on so well and Harry had someone to write to while he was in school. It did make Remus wonder if Harry knew exactly how often Sirius was at the school visiting though. And in reverse, he wondered if Sirius sometimes came to the school so often because it was the last place he'd been properly happy, or because he felt closer to Harry, and by extension James, by being there.

"What I meant was, is it really that serious if you haven't been introduced to Andy and Ted as her boyfriend yet?" Sirius clarified.

"I hadn't thought of that." he said honestly.

"Well," he shrugged "maybe wait then. Once you know just how serious it is between the two of you, then let her know. For what it's worth, I knew Andy pretty well and I am sure that she would be okay with it. If Dora's as smitten with you as you are with her then the two of you will be having puppies in no time."

Remus scrunched his face up at Sirius then. "Can I get some honest opinions from you please? This is actually important to me. I'm worried I'm going to scare her away once she finds out and you joking about it all isn't helping stop me slipping into panic mode."

"Remus," Sirius exasperated, "you have nothing to worry about. Dora and you are getting along famously. Remember how she kept needing assurances that you wouldn't be prejudiced against her because of her being a Metamorph? I highly doubt that she would have anything against you being a Werewolf. You've been together at all times of the month through, what, three cycles now?"

"Coming up on, yeah," Remus bobbed his head in agreement and thought.

"Okay. So, she knows that you aren't just going to somehow become one in the middle of the night and attack her. You've also held this job down for four years, so she knows that Albus trusts you around kids. She will take it just fine." he promised. "I do just think that you should wait until she introduces you to her parents properly. It'll be sort of a seal on your relationship."

Remus nodded. It was a fair assessment. And now that it had been brought up, he wasn't sure which would be worse, telling the woman he was falling in love with that he was a Werewolf, or meeting her parents in a boyfriend capacity. "How's your woman?" he asked, needing a distraction.

Sirius took a long drink from his tumbler. "Pretty sure that's done actually. We haven't made much time for each other since Valentine's. Saw each other maybe twice since then?"

"You don't seem to upset by that." he commented.

"Well, we weren't ever doing that doe eyed thing that you and Dora do. It was mostly just about sex and a bit of companionship." he said sadly. "Went on a few dates at first, then it was just about meeting up, doing the deed and then carrying on with our days."

"Think she was of the same opinion?" Remus wondered.

"Pretty sure, yeah. Either way I'll find out for sure the next time I see her." He paused and rubbed a thumb over the rim of his glass. "I've ah, I've been thinking about taking a trip to Albania."

"What?" Remus asked. They'd talked about going to Albania, but not until summer when he could go as well.

"Perhaps over the Easter break?" Sirius suggested. "Sort of get a jump on trying to locate him. The only other thing I had planned was taking Harry to Godrich's Hollow, and that is going to be woefully depressing."

"So, you want to pile on?" Remus scoffed.

"No," he rolled his eyes. "I just want all this over with. I'd like to narrow down where he might have gone. I'm going to do some research on Helena Ravenclaw and the Bloody Baron to see where in Albania she hid the Diadem and I thought, well, it's a coastal country. Might be a nice vacation spot."

"Oh, you mean mornings by the beach, afternoon's hunting down Dark Lords. Yeah, that sounds like a smashing time."

"Be real." Sirius sighed. "It's a small country. There are only so many places that he could hide. I think just going there and getting the lay of the land would be beneficial. Get us all more prepared for once we figure out the deal with the Horcruxes. I'm assuming he'd be staying in a rather secluded wood or something. Going out there, renting a car and driving around. It wouldn't hurt anybody. We could stick to the Muggle areas, get stories from locals."

Remus frowned in thought. That wasn't such a bad idea. Getting legends from the local Muggles couldn't hurt. "That. Well, that does sound like a good idea."

"Thank you." he cheersed his glass. "I think Harry would love it too. I imagine he hasn't traveled at all, getting to the mainland would be a treat for him."

Remus wouldn't mind taking a vacation either. It had been ages since he'd gone anywhere. He'd done a few trips to Paris, went to Lisbon once, but other than that he'd just stuck to the island. Maybe Dora might want to take a trip that summer. "You'll do the Godrich's Hollow bit first, right?"

"Was planning on that, yeah. Don't want him to have a great holiday and then get depressed right after. I'll need a trip after that as well." he took another swig. "Any more luck on the project?"

He had, "Remember when we talked about putting the soul fragments into an Inferni?" Sirius cringed. "Well, I think that once we get the transference bit sorted that that would be our best bet." Collecting the pieces of Tom Riddle's soul into one place would be a very interesting accomplishment. They had been all one soul at one point, it would be interesting to see if they did meld together again or if one piece was stronger than the others and stayed dominant.

"And bring that with us to Albania to call out the Wraith?"

"No. I had another idea for that." This Remus felt conflicted about. He wasn't sure if everyone was going to go for it, but it just might work.


	27. Memories

**Disclaimer- there is quite a bit of this chapter taken from HBP. It has been bastardized slightly to fit into this story.**

**()()()**

**Chapter 27- Memories**

**()()()**

He collapsed back against the desk behind him and sat there for a moment, waiting for a bit of his energy to return. It had taken more out of him than he had expected.

At least he had known in advance it would take a bit out of him, as he had the restorative potion ready and waiting on his desk. After the episode he'd had from using the Fiendfyre two days in a row he didn't want to chance collapsing in his office with only the former Head's portraits keeping an eye on him. He also did not want anyone else in the room while he practiced and perfected this experiment.

It was a very Dark form of magic that he'd found deep in the Hogwarts library. Not the student library, the one off the Headmasters office, the one with books too delicate or priceless to be available in the restricted section. This particular spell was in a book from the Medieval times about the true story of the death of Richard the Second in 1400. He had befriended a wizard named Thurston Hoyle and after the passing of Richard's wife, had tried to lay with Hoyle's wife, claiming it was his right as king. Hoyle was having none of that and had used the Dark Arts taught to him by his father to cast Richard the Second's soul out of his body and into a cat. The wife had seen it all, afterwards her husband fell into a coma for three days from performing the spell, one that was written and recorded there.

Albus had tried to replicate the spell several times, practicing different wand movements and focusing his energy on what he was trying to accomplish. The book had not record precisely how to accomplish the spell, only the incantation and will of the caster. It was exhausting work, but until he had a live object to try it out on he hadn't know just how debilitating it would be.

He had consulted a few of his past friends an colleagues about a spell, one of which being Horace Slughorn. Horace had been hesitant to assist, just as he had been about giving the true memory of a young Tom Riddle so many years ago. In the end, and after several drinks, Horace had mentioned the tale of Richard the Second as he'd heard it, which led Albus to search out that story. He'd also brought up Tom Riddle again. Horace bowed his head, linking the two subjects and morosely handed over the real memory of his conversation with his student nearly fifty years ago.

Managing to get up on his knees Albus pulled down the vial on the desk and drank down his restorative potion greedily, resting back against the wood and watching as the soul of his chickadee bird splashed around in the body of a recently made soul-less fish in a bowl on the floor. The fish soul residing in the chickadee bird that was laying on its side.

He'd done it.

It had taken a full month, but he'd done it. He had not only managed to transfer a soul but separate the two souls that had rested inside one being. He could see them both inside the bird as separate entities and chose which one he wanted to transfer.

With a sigh he rested his head back against the wood of his ornate desk. Now he knew how to transfer the Horcruxes out of the objects and could let Remus and Sirius know.

The Easter Holiday was coming up soon, Sirius had told him he wanted to get the lay of the land in Albania, then Remus had explained how he wanted to approach the wraith and it was rather ingenious, particularly if it panned out.

The next step though was to tell Harry about the Horcrux he believed lived inside of him.

It didn't seem so daunting a task now. He wouldn't be telling the boy and then letting him live with the knowledge that there was an evil presence inside him, he would be removing the presence right away. The prophesy too could be reinterpreted now. While all along he believed that it would be the power of love that was what 'He knew not', it seemed that it was the love of those around the boy fighting to bring Tom to his proper end.

There were thousands of prophesies in the Department of Mysteries, the majority of them laying unfulfilled. He wasn't being naïve; he knew that not all prophesies were to be taken verbatim and hearing that one from the mouth of Sybill Trelawny he had hoped that it wouldn't be more than the foggy foretelling of what might come to be.

When Severus came to him and explained how he had overheard it and passed it on to his former Master he knew that wasn't the case. Tom put a lot of stock into all branches of magic but hadn't understand that it was his hearing of the prophesy and acting on it that made it a reality. If only the boy had taken Divination while he was in school he might have known better.

Now though, as the energy was coming back to his body he stood up and went to sit in his chair. It had been a week since he'd told Miss Granger and Mister Potter that he would consider showing them the memories of Tom Riddle. He felt safe in doing so now.

Albus wrote out one letter for Sirius, he would want him present for Harry, and one for Miss Granger.

He had to wonder what Miss Granger's future would look like. She was a remarkably brilliant girl; studious, logical and dedicated. There was no doubt that her professors would expect her to be Head Girl next year, and she would do well in that role. She had been fair in her punishments that she had had to give out as a Prefect, even to a few of her tormentors from over the years.

He could see her rising through the ranks at the Ministry quickly and becoming Minister, probably by the time she was forty. And, he would have no qualms about putting his own recommendation forward for her to start out in any position she chose.

For Harry though, he wasn't sure what his future career path held, but he knew it would involve Miss Weasley. It was lovely seeing the two of them together. They reminded him of his parents so much. James Potter had been smart but uncontrollable, until Miss Evans took him by the ear and made him focus on what was important.

Though, Harry had been as reserved as his two best friends until the Weasley siblings came along. Miss Granger and Mister Longbottom were not one's to break the rules and given his unfortunate childhood and home life the stability of his friends had done him good. The Weasley's though had made him relax and begin to become his own man. Sirius and Remus too had helped with that quite a bit in the last few months.

It killed him to find out that Harry's aunt and uncle had been so neglectful. He should have been paying closer attention to him. Arabella had reported back to him a few times a year, but that was as much as he had done to check up on the boy. The school and medical records that the Auror's found, and what Sirius had told him about Harry's 'bedroom' until he received the Hogwarts letter, it was heartbreaking.

There wasn't anything he could do to change the past though. He could only work to make Harry's future, and the rest of the Magical World's, a better place.

()()()

"Mmm," Ginny moaned against his lips. "You have to leave for your meeting in a minute."

"Yeah," he said as he kissed his way down her neck, "that's a full sixty seconds from now." He ran his thumb over the slip of skin above her trousers where her shirt rode up. They were sitting in the Common Room, her in his lap in one of the large chairs by the window. No one was paying them any mind. Hermione hadn't even shown up yet and gotten his attention through her exasperated and impatient huffing, he had plenty of time for a few more kisses.

"How long do you reckon you'll be?" she asked him, her hand running up his arm and into his hair.

"Could be a while. Hopefully I'll be out of there before dinner." His hand went up under her shirt to trace up and down her side. They'd had Quidditch practice that morning and he could smell her shampoo clearly. It was a lovely floral scent that didn't overwhelm his nose. He slipped his hand out from under her shirt and took one of her long locks in his hand. It felt so silky and smooth, he loved running it through his fingers.

"You think he's going to show you the memories that he showed Sirius over the holidays?"

"Dunno. We'll have the meeting with the Goblin's first, then I guess we'll just see how much time he has after that." He wasn't really interested in talking just then, he would have preferred to keep their mouths otherwise occupied. They'd been so busy with school work lately, he cherished any time they could get and wasn't interested in talking, they could talk to each other when their friends were around.

Ginny had other ideas. She shifted back from him and started rubbing along his hairline by his forehead. She knew that that made him incapable of doing anything besides enjoying the sensation. "Think we can sneak away this evening? Or do you have a pile of assignments you've been neglecting?"

His eyes were closed as he enjoyed her touch. He didn't give two shits about homework just then. "Can do it tomorrow." he mumbled.

"Me, or your homework?" she teased, whispering in his ear.

"Mmm, both."

Her body shook slightly with laughter and she pulled her hand away. "Hermione's just come down the stairs."

Harry groaned. That had been feeling amazing, he wouldn't care what the Goblin's or the Headmaster had to say if she just kept giving him that massage. Regretfully he placed his hands at her hips and shifted out from under her. "Tonight," he kissed her nose, "we will pick up where this left off. Think we both might enjoy a back rub."

Her eyes were dancing as she bit her lip in a grin. "You just want a front rub." she whispered.

He leaned into her ear, "We'll just have to see what happens." He placed his hand on her thigh as he pushed away, making sure to trail it up slightly. Turning away from her he went over to Hermione. "All set?" though he knew he never had to ask when it came to his friend. She had a bag slung over her shoulder, and he had to wonder if she knew whether or not one could take notes while witnessing a memory. From the way Sirius described it, it had been an immersive experience, but all in your head in a way.

"All set," she patted her shoulder strap. "I have the contracts for the Goblins and notepads for the memories." Her eyes were nearly bugging out of her head in excitement. "I hope you understand how major this is. I mean, him deciding to show you the memories, well, it's kind of your right."

"How do you figure?" he asked as they went through the portrait hole and closed it behind them. He knew that Tom Riddle had killed his parents, so in that respect, sure, but Riddle had ruined the lives of so many that Harry having a 'right' to view them over anybody else didn't make sense. These memories weren't going to be of that night. At least, he hoped not. He wasn't really interested in seeing his parents slain down in their home. He was having a hard-enough time having to see the house where it all happened in a few weeks over Easter.

"You were the one to 'finish him off' fifteen years ago. I would think you would be more interested in it all." Hermione scoffed.

"I am interested, but it isn't like it's occupied my every waking moment over the past fifteen years. These past few months have been enlightening. And helping hunt down all of the Horcruxes with Sirius and Remus-"

"The what?" Hermione stopped and put her arm out to stop him as well.

He stared at her in confusion for a moment, then realized what he'd just said. "Shit." He couldn't believe he'd slipped up like that. She just knew so much about Riddle already that he forgot just then that she didn't know about how Riddle had made himself immortal. "Hermione," he started.

"What is a Horcrux?" Her eyes were wide and demanding.

"I shouldn't have said that."

"Well, wasn't I just about to find out about them anyways? Isn't that part of what these memories we are going to see are going to be about?" she implored.

"I don't know." he admitted. "Sirius didn't tell me what they all were. And I don't know if Dumbledore was going to be showing us all of them, or if they were going to be about… shit. I can't believe I just let that slip." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. For months he'd managed to hold her off and keep it to himself, now as they were about to discuss it all he let it slip.

"But, what is it?"

"It's… it's not for me to say. Can you please just pretend that I didn't tell you? I really don't want to disappoint Sirius. Maybe they'll tell you about it, maybe they won't." He pleaded.

"If they don't tell me in the meeting, will you? You know I am going to look it up anyways."

He did know that. She probably wouldn't sleep until she'd gone through every book in the library in search of what it was. For the sake of her sanity he probably should tell her what it was. For the sake of adding accuracy to her articles too. But since the Horcruxes were still a problem they were dealing with, and they didn't know if they'd found them all, it could be a dangerous part to add to her articles as well.

"Look. A Horcrux is a dangerous thing, if they don't tell you about it in the meeting then," he stared at her brown eyes and didn't want to hide it from her anymore. She was his first friend, she'd been killing herself tracking down all of this information, including breaking and entering government facilities and disregarding her own moral compass in the search for the truth about him. She deserved to know. "Yes. I'll tell you later. Then you'll understand why there's been all the cloak and dagger about it all."

"Really?!" she beamed.

"Really. But after I tell you we are going to go over _every_ potential outcome that could arise from you adding anything about it to your stories."

"Article's." she corrected.

"Right. Article's." She'd corrected him about that a few times before, "_stories are fabrications, my articles are fact. And I've worked hard to make sure of that."_ she'd lectured him over that one. "Either way, we're making one of your pro-con lists."

"Completely understood." She put both of her hands up as a show of her agreement.

They kept on their way to the Headmasters office, Hermione was practically vibrating with excitement the whole way. He really hoped she could manage to keep her calm once they got there, or simply pass it off as being related to the meeting with the Goblins or anticipation at viewing the memories.

"Harry!" Sirius greeted him with a hug when they got to the office. Harry beamed at his guardian. It was still new to him to be cared for like this by an uncle type figure, someone older that held an interest and took responsibility for him.

The Goblin Farnook was seated at his desk he'd transfigured. It looked like an elementary school students desk due to its size and made him want to chuckle, but knew that would be considered bad form and managed to internalize his amusement.

The meeting with the Goblin went quickly, they only discussed profits, distribution of the materials removed, and how Hermione had a vault opened in her name. The Basilisk had been completely taken apart now, the Goblin's had worked round the clock to drain it and separate the parts that had magical properties and usefulness. They had searched the remaining tunnels down there with their teams, not trusting that the wizards had done the job appropriately, but they too found nothing else. No secret passageways, no hidden rooms, nothing else of value.

Dumbledore thanked the Goblin and after Farnook left he focused his attention on Harry and Hermione. "You both understand that this is privileged information that I will be sharing with you?"

"We understand." Hermione spoke for the both of them. "Anything you show us, I won't be adding it to my articles unless it can be validated through another source."

Harry glanced over at Sirius, so far as he knew the only memory that Dumbledore had shown him was the one of Tom Riddle and Slughorn in his office, and that hadn't been a 'complete' memory, whatever that meant. He wondered just how many memories they were going to be shown today. He really hoped there wouldn't be one of the night his parents died.

"Alright then." The Headmaster still looked hesitant as he went over to a large stone basin.

Hermione had filled Harry in on how one 'view's a memory', it was confusing to try and imagine exactly how she'd described it. At least he had a general knowledge of what was expected of him, and he knew it was called a Pensive. It would have been preferable to have a screen projection of the memory rather than becoming part of the background.

"What memories will we be viewing?" Hermione asked as she stood beside him at the basin.

"I have selected a few carefully. The first will be my first meeting with Tom at the Muggle Orphanage he was raised in, when he found out that he was a wizard. The second is of young Tom Riddle with his Potions Professor, which Mister Black has already viewed part of."

Harry glanced over and saw Sirius had a raised eyebrow about that. Apparently he didn't know that Dumbledore had the full memory in his possession now. That had been what he'd been asked to do over Christmas, perhaps Dumbledore had tracked Slughorn down since and managed to get it.

"The last is a memory I retrieved from a House Elf after her owner's untimely passing. It shows Tom in his early twenties, before he started truly gathering his 'loyal followers'."

"And why have you chosen these three particular memories?" Hermione asked.

Harry could gather why these three in particular were chosen. They would paint the proper picture of his development and manipulative skills over his life. From what he'd been told, the Slughorn memory meant that Harry's earlier slip up in the hallway would be moot. That was a load off his mind. He wanted her to know. She had insights about these things that he wouldn't have caught on to, like with Tom's school records and the bit about Dumbledore giving him the bare minimum for his reports.

"These will give you an understanding of the gravitas that Tom Riddle projected. No doubt you will realize from the way he held himself just how a boy who came from nothing was able to gather followers and corrupt our world." With that he took a few glass vials by his side and unstoppered them, pouring the shimmering mist into the liquid in the bowl and lowered his face, disappearing into it.

Hermione's eyes lit up in amazement and followed suit. Harry cast Sirius a curious glance.

"I know. It was really weird. It'll feel like you're falling, but it won't hurt you in any way." He sighed. "Come on. Don't want to keep them waiting." He gave a squeeze to Harry's hand and put his face in the bowl, disappearing as well.

Harry took one more sigh and lowered his face. The sensation of falling was immediate, but his landing was just as sudden. He was standing outside in the rain on a dark day in what he assumed was London. Dumbledore, Hermione and Sirius were beside them.

It was a relief to see that they could share the experience like this. He was worried they would each be going through the memory by themselves. Sort of like a virtual reality game that re-set the scene for every player.

"This is Wool's Orphanage." Hermione pointed out to him. The sign above the door of the building in front of him relaying that information clearly enough. "It isn't standing any more. They tore it down and put up office buildings."

Harry exchanged a glance with Sirius. They both had the expression of assuming Hermione was going to yammer away about all the knowledge she'd collected through the entire experience.

"Oh look!" She pointed to the man coming down the walk towards the gate. "There's a young Headmaster Dumbledore!"

"Yes. Don't I look spry?" The current Headmaster beside her mused.

Harry snickered alongside his Godfather. Truthfully there wasn't too much of a difference between the men, aside from the fact that the younger one was wearing a Muggle Suit, and the older one was wearing his robes, which would have made the Matrons at the Orphanage think he was walking around in sleeping gowns. His beard was shorter too and had a few streaks of dark hair in it still. All in all though, he looked pretty much the same.

They followed on behind him as he knocked on the door and greeted by a girl wearing an apron that called to the matron. They all heard distant shouting about before the matron, a skinny and harassed looking woman came scurrying towards them She had a sharp-featured face that appeared more anxious than unkind and she was talking over her shoulder to another aproned helper as she walked towards the young Dumbledore. It appeared many of the children had broken out in Chicken Pox.

"Good Afternoon," the young Dumbledore said, holding out his hand.

She simply gaped.

"This is Mrs. Cole, she is in charge of the orphanage," the current Dumbledore told them all.

"My name is Albus Dumbledore," the younger one told Mrs. Cole. "I sent you a letter requesting an appointment and you very kindly invited me here today."

Mrs. Cole blinked. Apparently deciding that Dumbledore was not a hallucination, she said feebly, "Oh, yes. Well- Well then- You'd better come into my room. Yes." She led Dumbledore into a small room that seemed part sitting room, part office. It was as shabby as the hallway and the furniture was old and mismatched. She invited Dumbledore to sit on a rickety chair and seated herself behind a cluttered desk, eyeing him nervously.

The rest of them filed in unnoticed against the back of the office, Hermione looking captivated and mercifully silent as she observed everything. Sirius was standing close enough that their shoulders were touching. He kept nudging and pinching Harry's side slightly. Harry elbowed him just below his ribs to get him to stop, trying not to laugh. Seeing these memories was supposed to be a privilege, one he didn't want revoked for misbehaving.

"I am here, as I told you in my letter, to discuss Tom Riddle and arrangements for his future," said the young Dumbledore.

"Are you family?" asked Mrs. Cole.

"No, I am a teacher," said Dumbledore. "I have come to offer Tom a place at my school."

"What school's this, then?"

"It is called Hogwarts," said Dumbledore.

"And how come you're interested in Tom?"

"We believe he had qualities we are looking for."

"You mean he's won a scholarship? How can he have done? He's never been entered for one."

"Well, his name has been down for our school since birth-"

"Who registered him? His parents?"

There was no doubt that Mrs. Cole was an inconveniently sharp woman. Apparently Dumbledore thought so too, for Harry now saw him slip his wand out of the pocket of his velvet suit, at the same time picking up a piece of perfectly blank paper from Mrs. Cole's desktop.

Hermione made a tisking sound seeing that.

"Remember how you found his orphanage records?" Harry asked her with a raised eyebrow.

She blushed slightly and turned back to the scene while Sirius raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but Harry shook his head in response. Now wasn't the time to explain that one.

"Here," said young Dumbledore, waving his wand once as he passed her the piece of paper, "I think this will make everything clear."

Mrs. Cole's eyes slid out of focus and back again as she gazed intently at the blank paper for a moment. "That seems perfectly in order," she said placidly, handing it back. Then her eyes fell upon a bottle of gin and two glasses that had certainly not been present a few seconds before. "Er- may I offer you a glass of gin?" she said in an extra refined voice.

"Thank you very much," said Dumbledore, beaming.

It soon became clear that Mrs. Cole was no novice when it came to gin-drinking. Pouring both of them a generous measure, she drained her own glass in one. Smacking her lips frankly, she smiled at Dumbledore for the first time, and he didn't hesitate to press his advantage.

"I was wondering whether you could tell me anything of Tom Riddle's history? I think he was born here in the orphanage?"

"That's right," said Mrs. Cole, helping herself to more gin. "I remember it clear as anything, because I'd just started here myself. New Year's Eve and bitter cold, snowing, you know. Nasty night. And this girl, not much older than I was myself at the time, came staggering up the front steps. Well, she wasn't the first. We took her in and she had the baby within the hour. And she was dead in another hour." Mrs. Cole nodded impressively and took another generous gulp of gin.

"Did she say anything before she died?" asked Dumbledore. "Anything about the boy's father, for instance?"

"Now, as it happens, she did," said Mrs. Cole, who seemed to be rather enjoying herself now, with the gin in her hand and an eager audience for her story. "I remember she said to me, 'I hope he looks like his papa,' and I won't lie, she was right to hope it, because she was no beauty- and then she told me he was to be named Tom, for his father, and Marvolo, for _her_ father- yes, I know, funny name, isn't it? We wondered whether she came from a circus- and she said the boy's surname was to be Riddle. And she died soon after that without another word."

Hermione clutched at Harry's arm then. He shot a look over at her. She was captivated with the interaction, and he had no doubt that she was going to go back and alter her Merope story to include this bit.

"Well, we named him just as she'd said, it seemed so important to the poor girl, but no Tom nor Marvolo nor any kind of Riddle ever came looking for him, nor any family at all, so he stayed in the orphanage and he's been here ever since." Mrs. Cole helped herself, almost absent-mindedly, to another healthy measure of gin. Two pink spots had appeared high on her cheek-bones. Then she said, "He's a funny boy."

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "I thought he might be."

"He was a funny baby, too. He hardly ever cried, you know. And then, when he got a little older, he was… odd."

"Odd, in what way?" asked Dumbledore gently.

"Well, he-" But Mrs. Cole pulled up short, and there was nothing blurry or vague about the inquisitorial glance she shot Dumbledore over her gin glass. "He's definitely got a place at your school, you say?"

"Definitely," said Dumbledore.

"And nothing I say can change that?'

"Nothing," said Dumbledore.

"You'll be taking him away, whatever?"

"Whatever," repeated Dumbledore gravely.

She squinted at him as though deciding whether or not to trust him. Apparently she decided she could, because she said in a sudden rush, "He scares the other children."

"You mean he is a bully?" asked Dumbledore.

"I think he must be," said Mrs. Cole, frowning slightly, "But it's very hard to catch him at it. There have been incidents… nasty things…"

Dumbledore did not press her, though Harry could tell that he was interested. She took yet another gulp of gin and her rosy cheeks grew rosier still.

"Billy Stubb's rabbit… well, Tom _said_ he didn't do it and I don't see how he could have done, but even so, it didn't hang itself from the rafters, did it?"

"I shouldn't think so, no," said Dumbledore quietly.

"But I'm jiggered if I know how he got up there to do it. All I know is he and Billy had argued the day before. And then-" Mrs. Cole took another swig of gin, slopping a little over her chin this time, "On the summer outing- we take them out, you know, once a year, to the countryside or to the seaside- well, Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop were never quite right afterwards, and all we ever got out of them was that they'd gone into a cave with Tom Riddle. He swore they'd just gone exploring, but _something_ happened in there, I'm sure of it. And, well, there have been a lot of things, funny things…" She looked at Dumbledore again, and though her cheeks were flushed, her gaze was steady. "I don't think many people will be sorry to see the back of him."

"You understand, I'm sure, that we will not be keeping him permanently?" said Dumbledore. "He will have to return here, at the very least, every summer."

"Oh, well, that's better than a whack on the nose with a rusty poker," said Mrs. Cole with a slight hiccough. She got to her feet and Harry was impressed to see that she was quite steady, even though two-thirds of the gin was now gone. "I suppose you'd like to see him?"

"Very much," said Dumbledore, rising too.

She led him out of her office and up the stone stairs, calling out instructions and admonitions to helpers and children as she passed. The orphans, Harry saw, were all wearing the same kind of greyish tunic. They looked reasonably well-cared-for, but there was no denying that this was a grim place in which to grow up.

"Here we are," said Mrs. Cole, as they turned off the second landing and stopped outside the first door in a long corridor. She knocked twice and entered. "Tom? You've got a visitor. This is Mr. Dumberton- sorry, Dunderbore. He's come to tell you- well, I'll let him do it."

Harry and the rest of the group entered the small room behind the younger Dumbledore, Mrs. Cole closing the door behind them. The invisible bunch of them stood shoulder to shoulder as they took in the room. It was a small bare room with nothing in it except an old wardrobe and an iron bedstead. A boy was sitting on top of the grey blankets, his legs stretched out in front of him, holding a book.

He was a handsome boy, tall for eleven years old, dark-haired and pale. His eyes narrowed slightly as he took in Dumbledore's eccentric appearance. There was a moment's silence.

"How do you do, Tom?" said Dumbledore, walking forwards and holding out his hand.

The boy hesitated, then took it, and they shook hands. Dumbledore drew up the hard wooden chair beside Riddle, so the pair of them looked rather like a hospital patient and a visitor.

"I am Professor Dumbledore."

"Professor?" repeated Riddle. He looked wary. "Is that like 'doctor'? What are you here for? Did _she_ get you in to have a look at me?" He was pointing at the door through which Mrs. Cole had just left.

"No, no," said Dumbledore, smiling.

"I don't believe you," said Riddle. "She wants me looked at, doesn't she? Tell the truth!" He spoke the last three words with a ringing force that was almost shocking. It was a command, and it sounded as though he had given it many times before. His eyes had widened and he was glaring at Dumbledore, who made no response except to continue smiling pleasantly. After a few seconds Riddle stopped glaring, though he looked, if anything warier still. "Who are you?"

"I have told you. My name is Professor Dumbledore and I work at a school called Hogwarts. I have come to offer you a place at my school- your new school, if you would like to come."

Riddle's reaction to this was most surprising. He leapt from the bed and backed away from Dumbledore, towards the rest of them, looking furious. "You can't kid me! The asylum, that's where you're from, isn't it? 'Professor', yes, of course- well, I'm not going, see? That old cat's the one who should be in the asylum. I never did anything to little Amy Benson or Dennis Bishop, and you can ask them, they'll tell you!"

"I am not from the asylum," said Dumbledore patiently. "I am a teacher and, if you will sit down calmly, I shall tell you about Hogwarts. Of course, if you would rather not come to the school, nobody will force you-"

"I'd like to see them try," sneered Riddle.

"Hogwarts," Dumbledore went on, as though he had not heard Riddle's last words, "is a school for people with special abilities-"

"I'm not mad!"

"I know that you are not mad. Hogwarts is not a school for mad people. It is a school of magic."

There was silence. Riddle had frozen, his face expressionless, but his eyes were flickering back and forth between each of Dumbledore's, as though trying to catch one of them lying.

"Magic?" he repeated in a whisper.

"That's right," said Dumbledore.

"It's… it's magic, what I can do?"

"What is it that you can do?"

"All sorts," breathed Riddle. A flush of excitement was rising up his neck into his hollow cheeks; he looked fevered. "I can make things move without touching them. I can make animals do what I want them to do, without training them. I can make bad things happen to people who annoy me. I can make them hurt if I want to." His legs were trembling. He stumbled forwards and sat down on the bed again, staring at his hands, his head bowed as though in prayer. "I knew I was different," he whispered to his own quivering fingers. "I knew I was special. Always, I knew there was something."

"Well, you were quite right," said Dumbledore, who was no longer smiling, but watching Riddle intently. "You are a wizard."

Riddle lifted his head. His face was transfigured: there was a wild happiness upon it, yet for some reason it did not make him better-looking; on the contrary, his finely carved features seemed somehow rougher, his expression almost bestial.

"Are you a wizard too?"

"Yes, I am."

"Prove it," said Riddle at once, in the same commanding tone he had used when he had said 'tell the truth'.

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "If, as I take it, you are accepting your place at Hogwarts-"

"Of course I am!"

"Then you will address me as 'Professor' or 'Sir'."

Riddle's expression hardened for the most fleeting moment before he said, in an unrecognizably polite voice, "I'm sorry, sir. I meant- please, Professor, could you show me-?"

Dumbledore drew his wand from an inside pocket of his suit jacket, pointed it at the shabby wardrobe in the corner and gave the wand a casual flick.

The wardrobe burst into flames and Hermione nearly leaped into Sirius' arms in shock, forgetting that she couldn't possibly be hurt in the memory.

Riddle jumped to his feet and howled in shock and rage; all his worldly possessions must have been in there' but even as Riddle rounded on Dumbledore the flames vanished, leaving the wardrobe completely undamaged.

Riddle stared from the wardrobe to Dumbledore, then, his expression greedy, he pointed at the wand. "Where can I get one of them?"

"All in good time," said Dumbledore. "I think there is something trying to get out of your wardrobe."

And sure enough, a faint rattling could be heard from inside it. For the first time, Riddle looked frightened.

"Open the door," said Dumbledore.

Riddle hesitated, then crossed the room and threw open the wardrobe door. On the topmost shelf, above a railing of threadbare clothes, a small cardboard box was shaking and rattling as though there were several frantic mice trapped inside it.

"Take it out," said Dumbledore.

Riddle took down the quaking box. He looked unnerved.

"Is there anything in that box that you ought not to have?" asked Dumbledore.

Riddle threw Dumbledore a long, clear, calculating look. "Yes, I suppose so, sir," he said finally, in an expressionless voice.

"Open it," said Dumbledore.

Riddle took off the lid and tipped the contents on to his bed without looking at them. There was a small mess of everyday objects that fell out; a yo-yo, a silver thimble and a tarnished mouth-organ among them. Once free of the box, they stopped quivering and lay quite still upon the thin blankets.

"You will return them to their owners with your apologies," said Dumbledore calmly, putting his wand back into his jacket. "I shall know whether it has been done. And be warned: thieving is not tolerated at Hogwarts."

Riddle did not look remotely abashed' he was still staring coldly and appraisingly at Dumbledore. At last he said in a colorless voice, "Yes, sir."

"At Hogwarts," Dumbledore went on, "We teach you not only to use magic, but to control it. You have – inadvertently, I am sure- been using you powers in a way that is neither taught nor tolerated at our school. You are not the first, nor will you be the last, to allow your magic to run away with you. But you should know that Hogwarts can expel students, and the Ministry of Magic – yes, there is a Ministry – will punish lawbreakers still more severely. All new wizards must accept that, in entering our world, they abide our laws."

"Yes, sir," said Riddle again. His face remained quite blank as he put the little cache of stolen objects back into the cardboard box. When he finished he turned to Dumbledore and said baldly, "I haven't got any money."

"That is easily remedied," said Dumbledore, drawing a leather money-pouch from his pocket. "There is a fund at Hogwarts for those who require assistance to buy books and robes. You might have to buy some of your spellbooks and so on second-hand, but-"

"Where do you buy spellbooks?" interrupted Riddle, who had taken the heavy money-bag without thanking Dumbledore, and was now examining a fat gold Galleon.

"In Diagon Alley," said Dumbledore. "I have your list of books and school equipment with me. I can help you find everything-"

"You're coming with me?" asked Riddle, looking up.

"Certainly, if you-"

"I don't need you," said Riddle. "I'm used to doing things for myself, I go round London on my own all the time. How do you get to this Diagon Alley – sir?" he added, catching Dumbledore's eye.

Dumbledore handed Riddle the envelope containing his list of equipment, and, after telling Riddle exactly how to get to the Leaky Cauldron from the orphanage, he said, "You will be able to see it, although Muggles around you – non-magical people, that is – will not. Ask for Tom the barman – easy enough to remember, as he shares your name-'

Riddle gave an irritable twitch, as though trying to displace an irksome fly.

"You dislike the name 'Tom'?"

"There are a lot of Toms," muttered Riddle. Then, as though he could not suppress the question, as though it burst from him in spite of himself, he asked, "Was my father a wizard? He was called Tom Riddle too, they've told me."

"I'm afraid I don't know," said Dumbledore, his voice gentle.

"My mother can't have been magic, or she wouldn't have died," said Riddle, more to himself than Dumbledore. "It must've been him. So – when I've got all my stuff – when do I come to this Hogwarts?"

"All the details are on the second piece of parchment in your envelope," said Dumbledore. "You will leave from King's Cross Station on the first of September. There is a train ticket in there, too."

Riddle nodded. Dumbledore got to his feet and held out his hand again. Taking it, Riddle said, "I can speak to snakes. I found out when we've been to the country on trips – they find me, they whisper to me. Is that normal for a wizard?"

"It is unusual," said Dumbledore, after a moment's hesitation, "but not unheard of." His tone was casual but his eyes moved curiously over Riddle's face. They stood for a moment, man and boy, staring at each other. Then the handshake was broken; Dumbledore was at the door. "Goodbye, Tom. I shall see you at Hogwarts."

The scene in front of them swirled and Harry instinctively reached out to grab for Hermione and Sirius' arms.

There were half a dozen boys sitting around someone that looked like a younger Horace Slughorn in this new room, the boys were all on harder or lower seats than his, and all in their mid-teens. Harry recognized Riddle at once. He had the most handsome face and he looked the most relaxed of all the boys. His right hand lay negligently upon the arm of his chair. This young Riddle had some jewelry on him that looked out of place considering the situation he had been in in the previous memory.

"Sir, is it true that Professor Merrythought is retiring?" Riddle asked.

"Tom, Tom, if I knew I couldn't tell you," said Slughorn, wagging a reproving, sugar-covered finger at Riddle, though ruining the effect slightly by winking. "I must say, I'd like to know where you get your information, boy' more knowledgeable than half the staff, you are."

Riddle smiled; the other boys laughed and cast him admiring looks.

"What with your uncanny ability to know things you shouldn't, and your careful flattery of the people who matter – thank you for the pineapple, by the way, you're quite right, it is my favorite – I confidently expect you to rise to Minister for Magic within twenty years. Fifteen, if you keep sending me pineapple. I have excellent contacts at the Ministry."

Tom Riddle merely smiled as the others laughed again. "I don't know that politics would suit me, sir," he said when the laughter had died away. "I don't have the right kind of background, for one thing."

A couple of the boys around him smirked at each other, undoubtedly about what they knew, or suspected, regarding their gang leader's famous ancestor. It made a shiver run up Harry's spine. These boys must have known the kind of genocide he was hoping to inflict on their world even at the young age he was then.

"Nonsense," said Slughorn briskly, "couldn't be plainer you come from decent wizarding stock, abilities like yours. No, you'll go far, Tom, I've never been wrong about a student yet."

The small golden clock standing upon Slughorn's desk chimed eleven o'clock behind him and he looked around.

"Good gracious, is it that time already? You'd better get going, boys, or we'll all be in trouble. Lestrange, I want your essay by tomorrow or it's detention. Same goes for you, Avery."

One by one the boys filed out of the room. Slughorn heaved himself out of his armchair and carried his empty glass over to his desk. A movement behind him made him look round' Riddle was still standing there.

"Look sharp, Tom, you don't want to be caught out of bed out of hours, and you a prefect…"

"Sir, I wanted to ask you something."

"Ask away, then, m'boy, ask away…"

"Sir, I wondered what you know about… about Horcruxes?"

Harry heard Hermione suck in a deep breath through her nose beside him.

Slughorn stared at him, his thick fingers absent-mindedly caressing the stem of his wine glass. "Project for Defense Against the Dark Arts, is it?"

"Not exactly, sir," said Riddle. "I came across the term while reading and I didn't fully understand it."

"No, well, you'd be hard-pushed to find a book at Hogwarts that'll give you details on Horcruxes, Tom. That's very Dark stuff, very Dark indeed," said Slughorn.

"But you obviously know all about them, sir? I mean, a wizard like you – sorry, I mean, if you can't tell me, obviously – I just knew if anyone could tell me, you could – so I just thought I'd ask-"

"Well," said Slughorn, not looking at Riddle, but fiddling with the ribbon on top of his box of crystallized pineapple, "Well, it can't hurt to give you an overview, of course. Just so you understand the term. A Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul."

"I don't quite understand how that works, though, sir," said Riddle. His voice was carefully controlled, but there was a sense of excitement coming off him.

"Well, you split your soul, you see," said Slughorn, "and hide part of it in an object outside the body. Then, even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged. But, of course, existence in such a form, few would want it, Tom, very few. Death would be preferable."

Riddle's expression had turned greedy, "how do you split your soul?"

"Well," said Slughorn uncomfortably, "you must understand that the soul is supposed to remain intact and whole. Splitting it is an act of violation, it is against nature."

"But how do you do it?"

"By an act of evil- the supreme act of evil. By committing murder. Killing rips the soul apart. The wizard intent upon creating a Horcrux would use the damage to his advantage: he would encase the torn portion-"

"Encase? But how-?"

"There is a spell, do not ask me, I don't know!" said Slughorn, shaking his head like an old elephant bothered by mosquitoes. "Do I look as though I have tried it – do I look like a killer?"

"No, sir, of course not," said Riddle quickly. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to offend…"

"Not at all, not at all, not offended," said Slughorn gruffly. "It's natural to feel some curiosity about these things… wizards of a certain caliber have always been drawn to that aspect of magic..."

"Yes, sir," said Riddle. "What I don't understand, though – just out of curiosity – I mean, would one Horcrux be much use? Can you only split your soul once? Wouldn't it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces? I mean, for instance, isn't seven the most powerfully magical number, wouldn't seven -?"

"Merlin's beard, Tom!" yelped Slughorn. "Seven! Isn't it bad enough to think of killing one person? And in any case… bad enough to divide the soul… but to rip it into seven pieces…" Slughorn looked deeply troubled now: he was gazing at Riddle as though he had never seen him plainly before and Harry could tell that he was regretting entering into the conversation at all. "Of course," he muttered, "this is all hypothetical, what we're discussing, isn't it? All academic…"

"Yes, sir, of course," said Riddle quickly.

"But all the same, Tom… keep it quiet, what I've told- that's to say, what we've discussed. People wouldn't like to think we've been chatting about Horcruxes. It's a banned subject at Hogwarts, you know… Dumbledore's particularly fierce about it…"

"I won't say a word, sir," said Riddle and he left.

Again the scene dissolved. Harry's brow was furrowed over the behaviour of the previous Potions Professor, how could he have shared that information with a student like Tom Riddle. He was obviously a suck up who was looking for power. And he'd been hesitant through out their entire one on one, the regret for sharing the information was nearly instant. It was a good thing he retired before he managed to lead any more kids down the path of attempting world domination.

When the darkness cleared away they found themselves in a sitting room in front of an immensely fat old lady wearing an elaborate ginger wig and a brilliant pink set of robes that flowed all around her, giving her the look of a melting iced cake. She was looking into a small jeweled mirror and dabbing rouge on her already scarlet cheeks with a large powder puff, while the tiniest and oldest house-elf Harry had ever seen laced her fleshy feet into tight satin slippers.

Harry cringed at the ostentatious sight of her. He exchanged the look with Sirius, who looked like he was fighting back a bark of laughter himself.

"Hurry up, Hokey!" said Hepzibah imperiously. "He said he'd come at four, it's only a couple of minutes to and he's never been late yet!" She tucked away her powder puff as the house-elf straightened up. The top of the elf's head barely reached the seat of Hepzibah's chair and her papery skin hung off her frame just like the crisp linen sheet she wore draped like a toga.

"How do I look?" asked Hepzibah, turning her head to admire the various angles of her face in the mirror.

"Lovely, madam," squeaked they lying Hokey.

A tinkling doorbell rang and both mistress and elf jumped.

"Quick, quick, he's here, Hokey!" cried Hepzibah and the elf scurried out of the room, which was so crammed with objects that it was difficult to see how anybody could navigate their way across it without knocking over at least a dozen things, there were cabinets full of little lacquered boxes, cases full of gold-embossed books, shelves of orbs and celestial globes and many flourishing pot plants in brass containers; in fact, the room looked like a cross between a magical antique shop and a conservatory.

The house-elf returned within minutes, followed by a tall young man Harry had no difficulty whatsoever in recognizing as Tom Riddle. He was plainly dressed in black suit; his hair was longer than it had been at school and his cheeks were hollowed, but all of this suited him: he looked more handsome than ever. He picked his way through the cramped room with an air that showed he had visited many times before and bowed low over Hepzibah's fat little hand, brushing it with his lips.

"I brought you flowers," he said quietly, producing a bunch of roses from nowhere.

"You naughty boy, you shouldn't have!" squealed old Hepzibah. "You do spoil this old lady, Tom… sit down, sit down… where's Hokey… ah"

The house-elf had come dashing back into the room carrying a tray of little cakes, which she set at her mistress's elbow.

"Help yourself, Tom," said Hepzibah, "I know how you love my cakes. Now, how are you? You look pale. They overwork you at that shop, I've said it a hundred times…"

Riddle smiled mechanically and Hepzibah simpered. "Well, what's your excuse for visiting this time?" she asked, batting her lashes.

"Mr. Burke would like to make an improved offer for the goblin-made armour," said Riddle. "Five hundred Galleons, he feels it is a more than fair-"

"Now, now, not so fast, or I'll think you're only here for my trinkets!" pouted Hepzibah.

"I am ordered here because of them," said Riddle quietly. "I am only a poor assistant, madam, who must do as he is told. Mr. Burke wishes me to inquire-"

"Oh, Mr. Burke, phooey!" said Hepzibah, waving a little hand. "I've something to show you that I've never shown Mr. Burke! Can you keep a secret, Tom? Will you promise you won't tell Mr. Burke I've got it? He'd never let me rest if he knew I'd shown it to you, and I'm not selling, not to Burke, not to anyone! But you, Tom, you'll appreciate it for its history, not how many Galleons you can get for it…"

"I'd be glad to see anything Miss Hepzibah shows me," said Riddle quietly, and Hepzibah gave another girlish giggle.

"I had Hokey bring it out for me… Hokey, where are you? I want to show Mr. Riddle our finest treasure… in fact, bring both, while you're at it…"

"Here madam," squeaked the house-elf, and she produced two leather boxes, one on top of the other, moving across the room as if of their own volition, though he knew the tiny elf was holding them over her head as she wended her way between tables, pouffes and footstools.

"Now," said Hepzibah happily, taking the boxes from the elf, laying them in her lap and preparing to open the topmost one, "I think you'll like this, Tom… oh, if my family knew I was showing you… they can't wait to get their hands on this!" She opened the lid. Harry edged forwards a little with Hermione and Sirius to get a better view and saw the same golden cup he'd found in Sirius' family vault.

"I wonder whether you know what it is, Tom? Pick it up, have a good look!" whispered Hepzibah, and Riddle stretched out a long- fingered hand and lifted the cup by one handle out of its snug silken wrappings. Harry thought he saw a red gleam in Riddle's dark eyes. His greedy expression was curiously mirrored on Hepzibah's face, except that her tiny eyes were fixed upon Riddle's handsome features.

"A badger," murmured Riddle, examining the engraving upon the cup. "Then this was…?"

"Helga Hufflepuff's, as you very well know, you clever boy!" said Hepzibah, leaning forwards with a loud creaking of corsets and actually pinching his hollow cheek. "Didn't I tell you I was distantly descended? This has been handed down in the family for years and years. Lovely, isn't it? And all sorts of powers it's supposed to possess, too, but I haven't tested them thoroughly, I just keep it nice and safe in here…"

She hooked the cup back off Riddle's long forefinger and restored it gently to its box, too intent upon settling it carefully back into position to notice the shadow that crossed Riddle's face as the cup was taken away.

"Now then," said Hepzibah happily, "Where's Hokey? Oh yes, there you are- take that away now, Hokey-"

The elf obediently took the boxed cup, and Hepzibah turned her attention to the much flatter box in her lap.

"I think you'll like this even more, Tom," she whispered. "Lean in a little, dear boy, so you can see… of course, Burke knows I've got this one, I bought it from him, and I daresay he'd love to get it back when I'm gone…" She slid back the fine, filigree clasp and flipped open the box. There upon the smooth crimson velvet lay a heavy golden locket. It was the same golden locket that Dobby and Kreacher had been fighting over at Christmas. It looked like Riddle managed to swindle two of his Horcrux containers from this woman.

Riddle reached out his hand without invitation this time and held it up to the light, staring at it. 'Slytherin's mark," he said quietly, as the light played upon the ornate, serpentine 'S'.

"That's right!" said Hepzibah, delighted, apparently, at the sight of Riddle gazing at her locket, transfixed "I had to pay an arm and a leg for it, but I couldn't let it pass, not a real treasure like that, had to have it for my collection. Burke bought it, apparently, from a ragged-looking woman who seemed to have stolen it, but had no idea of its true value-"

There was no mistaking it this time: Riddle's eyes flashed scarlet at her words and Harry saw his knuckles whiten on the locket's chain.

"I daresay Burke paid her a pittance, but there you are… pretty, isn't it? And again, all kinds of powers attributed to it, though I just keep it nice and safe…"

She reached out to take the locket back. For a moment Harry thought Riddle was not going to let go of it, but then it had slid through his fingers and was back on its red velvet cushion.

"So there you are, Tom, dear, and I hope you enjoyed that!" She looked him full in the face and, for the first time, they saw her foolish smile falter. "Are you all right, dear?"

"Oh yes," said Riddle quietly. "Yes, I'm very well…"

"I thought – but a trick of the light, I suppose –" said Hepzibah, looking unnerved, and Harry guessed that she, too, had seen the momentary red gleam in his eyes. "Here, Hokey, take these away and lock them up again… the usual enchantments."

They were all pulled out of the Pensive and it took Harry a few blinks to re-calibrate himself and come back to reality.

"Hokey the house-elf was convicted by the Ministry of poisoning her mistress's evening cocoa by accident." Dumbledore told them.

"That was," Hermione started. "So… a Horcrux, that is how Tom Riddle survived so many years ago? Why you are convinced he did, anyhow?"

"I am afraid we know that for a fact, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore.

Hermione's complexion paled.

"We've found a few of the vessel's that he used," Harry told her. "Those two in the last memory."

"Do you think he made SEVEN of them?" she asked in a panic.

"I believe there were seven pieces of his soul in the end, yes." Dumbledore told her.

Harry's forehead creased in thought as he went over the number that they had come across already. 'Locket, Diary, Ring, Tiara, Cup and the actual piece of him that was still out there in wraith form.' He kept repeating them over in his head. He didn't remember another that had been found.

Perhaps there was still one that they had to track down somewhere. Harry looked over to Sirius and found Sirius was already looking at him with a sad, contemplative expression. Dumbledore was looking at him sadly as well.

"Miss Granger, were those memories sufficient?" the Headmaster asked her in a dismissive tone.

"A-absolutely. And I promise I won't be adding anything I can't verify through other sources. I don't know if putting anything about a Horcrux in my articles will do anyone any good," she told him, "it would be a horrible idea actually."

"I agree," nodded Dumbledore.

"Hermione," Sirius interjected, "would you mind heading back to Gryffindor? Your headmaster and I have to talk to Harry about something else."

Hermione exchanged a look with Harry, who wasn't sure what they needed to talk to him about alone, but shrugged and nodded at her. "Of course, thank you for sharing that with me," she told Dumbledore and left the office.

()()()

**Life Begins for a Young Orphan by George H.M. Rannier**

It wasn't exactly a hard life, living in an orphanage. There were lots of other kids to play with, the nurses were nice enough, lessons were the same there as they were everywhere else. The problem for one little orphan boy is that all the other kids seemed to think he was different. But that was okay, because he thought he was different too.

It was confusing, because he didn't know why or how exactly it was that he was different.

See, this little boy could do things with his mind if he concentrated really hard. Other kids saw him doing things too, they called him names because of it and it made all the other kids at the orphanage not like him. They were even slightly scared of him because in times of anger he didn't always have control of these little things he could do.

He was lonely.

Because he was lonely he spent all of his time on his studies and reading until he had read everything that the orphanage had for him to read, and his studies were well above those of the other children around him his age. This too did not help him make any friends.

While the other children at the orphanage had spent all of their time playing kickball and getting in trouble, this little boy stopped trying to join in. He regressed into himself and his own little world so much that even the adults running the orphanage noticed he stood out. He was so much smarter than the other children his age, his elocution and vocabulary were exemplary, and it was because of that that the adults began thinking him odd, they started leaving him to his own devices as well.

It had been when he was seven that he realized he was truly different from the children around him. They couldn't do things with their mind like him and none of them had the special talent that he had discovered one day down at the coast.

The little boy had begun to grow wistful about his oddities. He'd read comics and fairy tales about orphaned children who were whisked away to worlds they didn't know existed, and he thought he was like those children. He was special. Being different was a good thing, and he was going to keep practicing his special skills until he was amazing at them.

As he practiced moving things about his room through sheer will he also started to play on the feelings of the people around him, checking to see how they would respond to certain situations. If he cried for help, who would come? If he said someone was being mean, what would happen? And if he broke the rules at the orphanage, what would be his punishment? And, what would he have to do to make sure that the other kids wouldn't snitch on him when he stole from them?

He tested himself and those around him for years to figure out how people ticked, find out what they were motivated by. He was also getting leverage on those around him so that he could use certain material for future favors.

He'd begun going exploring too. He was being raised in Central London which allowed for quite a bit of sight seeing. No one paid attention to little orphan boys so he could pass along street ways and alleys completely unnoticed. All the while he searched around for someone who might be like him. Someone superior.

When he turned eleven, he learned that, yes, there had been a reason for his differences. His fantasized moment of some long lost relative or such coming to claim him and take him away from the sad orphanage had at long last come about. A professor from a far-off place had come to the orphanage to tell him about it all.

He was a wizard!

That was the reason he could do things, why he had his special skill! He was doing magic! He was going to go off to a school to learn how to do even more magic and he was going to be with people who were like him! People who **liked** him. People who he could look up to.

For once his lonesome heart felt hope, his clouds of depression were parting and he could see the sun shining down upon him.

He was a wizard and he was going to go to Hogwarts, and his whole life would be so much better.


	28. World Tilting Ever So Slightly

**()()()**

**Chapter 28- World Tilting Ever So Slightly**

**()()()**

**Student of the People by George H.M. Rannier**

Becoming beloved and revered was an ambitious goal. Becoming such a person when one comes from no money with no family to support them would prove near impossible for most.

Luckily for him, he was not most people. He was shrewd. He was methodical. He was a manipulator.

But he had this lovely back story that made his classmates and professors think the best of him. His classmates knew he was an orphan in a Muggle facility because he had told them. If he had not wanted them to know, they wouldn't have. But he needed their sympathy.

Not their pity.

He was not one to be pitied.

He didn't need money or family support to claim his place in the world. And his place was at the top of the world, and he'd work himself to the bone to get there.

Entering the hallowed halls of Hogwarts as an eleven-year-old child he hadn't had the wide eyes and bright face of those first year students around him. He'd done his research, he knew exactly what to expect. Hogwarts: A History had described it accurately, so as far as he was concerned, he didn't understand why were those around him had been so enamored.

None of his school life had him awe inspired. He'd found his way to Diagon Alley in London and managed to barter for as many books as he was able from the coffers he'd been given. The books may not have looked as lovely as the brand new one's that his fellow students held, but they had the same information. Information that it had grown apparent that he was the only one reading.

Being the ideal student was not his goal though.

It didn't take long for him to discover that he was special even around this crowd. He was still different from everyone else here. He was smarter.

At the orphanage he had known that he was special. When he'd been told that, yes, he was a wizard, he'd thought 'Finally, an explanation'. Well, it turned out that that wasn't explanation enough.

Being sorted into the house he had been wasn't a surprise for him. It was the ideal house and was filled with students from the right families. He'd searched the faces of all the students there for any resemblance to himself, his own parentage still being a mystery, and was woefully disappointed. He wasn't a Muggleborn, he just _knew_ that there was magical blood in his veins, a whole ancestry of it, there had to be. He didn't care whether he was the bastard child of someone, he just wanted answers about his true history.

He was careful about all of his interactions at school, professors and students alike. He needed them to trust him, he needed them to like him. It wasn't hard, really. He simply needed to pretend to be who they wanted him to be.

He had to humbly accept praise, he had to offer to help others, he had to feign interest in any stories that were shared with him, and most of all, he had to compliment his superiors skillfully. He also needed to let it be known to his fellow house mates that he absolutely knew he was sucking up, because it was how the game was played.

By third year the boy was tutoring his fellow classmates and the younger years, by fifth year he was a Prefect, by sixth he had received an award for Special Services to the School, a feat managed by framing another student and having them expelled, and by seventh he was named Head Boy.

His marks were exemplary, his attitude and grace were such that his professors thought he was the perfect role model for the other students. By all accounts he was a remarkable young man.

And he was.

It was remarkable that this young man had managed to con everyone around him.

Con them into thinking he was cultured, well mannered, coming from good breeding. He was being let into people's hearts and let into people's homes at such a young age.

He was playing the game of politics from the moment he stepped into the school, and he was winning.

()()()

"That's not funny," Harry said plainly.

"I should think not," Dumbledore replied. "It has been something weighing on my conscience for quite some time now. I just did not have the correct method of checking it safely. I also had hoped for quite some time that it wouldn't be the case. Alas, the time has come to properly check."

Harry gaped at him. There was no way. The only thing in his head was him. There wasn't any other fragment of soul residing in him in the back or his mind, or hanging out down around his left ankle or whatever, just him.

"Harry," Sirius said in the chair beside him. "Please let him check. We need to know."

"YOU need to know?" he asked incredulously. "You aren't the one with a potential mad man's soul partially inside him. I am the one that needs to know, and right now, I wish you hadn't told me."

"I have found a way to safely remove it." Dumbledore assured him. "You can even be unconscious for it, if you choose." He promised.

"Remove it," Harry repeated. "You make it sound like it is just a wart or something. Like you'll do a small procedure and it'll be like it was never there."

"Essentially," Dumbledore nodded his head.

"But," he trailed off. What if it was more than that? What if it had effected the outcome of his life? What if he relied on it in some way. Like, what if they removed it and suddenly he forgot about part of his life, it gave him partial amnesia or something? Suddenly he was really crap at Defense and failed his exams.

"We will not be doing it right away." Dumbledore told him. "I will be transferring the other three Horcruxes before removing yours."

"Then why did you tell me?" Harry demanded. "So I could have this knowledge festering in my head and driving me crazy?"

"Harry, I'm sorry." Sirius told him. "We didn't want you to know until we were sure there was a way to remove it safely. Trust me, you didn't want to try the other options that were on the table before Albus- er- your Headmaster figured out this one."

Harry wasn't properly understanding. He was sure it was a valid reason, but why tell him at all before they were ready to get it out right away? If it was even there in the first place. Couldn't they have just snuck into his dorm room and checked while he was sleeping or something? Then, if they could remove it while he was unconscious, why did they have to tell him at all?

Oh God. He put his head in his hands. Had it been effecting his choices? Changing his moods? His tastes? What if the part of Tom Riddle that was in him was the reason he was good at Quidditch? Or why he had been instantly attracted to Ginny?

"I need to know," he was looking directly at Dumbledore. "Check, check right now and let me know if it's there." He didn't care if this was going to hurt, now that he knew there was a possibility he had to know for sure.

Dumbledore nodded, "please sit still." He raised his wand and Harry stared at him, trying to assist in some way, as though attempting to clear his head was going to help his Headmaster get a better view of the aura around his body or something.

Harry sat there, staring at his Headmaster. His periwinkle eyes were staring back at him and Harry tried to gauge his expression, looking for any hint that he might have found what he was looking for. All he was seeing though was a repetitive wand movement and a bead of sweat making its way down his forehead. There was a sort of haze that he could see shimmering in front of him.

There was an unfortunate uptick in the corner of his Headmaster's mouth and his hand relaxed down to set on the desk. His lips then pursed and he gave off the overall impression of being vindicated.

"It's there then?" Sirius surmised.

"It is." Dumbledore nodded. "It is small, I am assuming it was unintentional, but it is there."

Harry was starting to get tunnel vision as his brain processed it. There was some foreign entity that had been living inside him for fifteen years. He listed forward and braced his arms on his knees.

"We'll get it out, Harry." Sirius promised with a hand on his shoulder.

Harry didn't even want to look at him right then. Who was he anyways? He was the man that was supposed to be his guardian and care about him, but instead of getting him away from the Dursleys as soon as he could he'd gone and lived as a pampered pet. And Dumbledore. He was all knowing, or that is what everyone said all the time anyways, and he had known that Tom Riddle was still out there for sure since Harry's first year, and yet he hadn't figured this part all out sooner?

Of course, with Harry having this thing inside him it was probably the reason he could speak Parseltonge, so it was to everybody's advantage, right? He thought bitterly. How was he supposed to just keep walking around and carrying on with his life and his friends while knowing that this was inside him?

"When are you taking it out?" he bit out, not able to look at either of them.

"As soon as the other three are taken care of." Dumbledore assured him.

"And when will that be happening?" he asked angrily.

"Sirius?" Dumbledore asked. "When do you believe you will be able to retrieve them from your vault?"

"I could go there right now." Sirius told him. "But I'm less certain of when I will have the... other part."

"Other part?" Harry asked, finally raising his eyes to look at his Godfather. "Is this something else that I'm not allowed to know about? I think I'm pretty involved as it is, maybe you should be letting me in on the whole plan." He was clutching the arms of his chairs and attempting to keep his volume down, but his blood was boiling.

It had only happened a few times before, but now he was noticing the change in the air. It was only when he was really angry. The air was sort of, crackling. The last time he'd gotten really angry he'd had that release of power that melted the snow and injured Ginny's hand. Before that, he'd had a small episode in his room at the Dursley's after getting blamed for breaking something that Dudley had knocked over. That time his pillow had exploded, he'd had to stuff the batting back in and tape up the fabric, hoping his aunt wouldn't notice.

Perhaps this was part of it, the Horcrux. Tom had been a really guarded person. He'd seen his eye's flashing red when he let that guard drop, so it stood to reason that if part of him was living inside Harry, then when Harry too lost control that the piece of his soul would take over a little bit.

"Harry," Sirius started cautiously. "Harry, we are trying to bring him down. Finish him off properly. You know that we were looking into containing the wraith that he is currently."

Harry closed his eyes tight, trying to maintain some kind of control and nodding his head.

There was the wraith that they had assumed was in Albania somewhere. The three remaining Horcruxes were in Sirius' vault, aside from the one that Harry carried around with him. Dumbledore wanted to transfer the thing out of the priceless relics instead of…

Harry's eyes snapped open. "It wasn't about saving the cup and whatnot from destruction, was it?" he asked Dumbledore.

"No. No it wasn't."

Harry's jaw clenched tight. Dumbledore had wanted to use them as a trial run for getting the soul piece out of Harry. Slowly his tense muscles relaxed and the air began to feel less thick around him.

"Okay," he managed with a deep breath. "So, now can I know the plan? It seems I'm rather involved in it more than I'd initially thought."

()()()

Sirius wasn't entirely sure what had just happened with Harry. The power that was coming off of him had been palpable. The air had tasted like green apples while Harry had sat there fuming.

It was understandable that he was going to be upset about the news. But Harry had been so level-headed about every piece of crazy news he'd received that Sirius had witnessed. His initial re-introduction, finding out about the Horcruxes, even when he'd discovered that he was actually the owner of his Aunt and Uncle's house. That had been the closest he'd seen of Harry losing his cool.

Right now he seemed so furious that he wouldn't have been too surprised to see the same red flash in Harry's eyes as he had in the memory with Mrs. Smith.

"Harry?" he asked cautiously. "Are you okay? Do you need a minute?"

Harry's eyes cast upwards to the ceiling; he was refusing to look directly at either of them. "I'm fine. Just let me know what the plan is. Whether you'll be using me for something too, that would be nice information to have ahead of time."

Sirius winced.

Dumbledore didn't hesitate for once. He opened his mouth and simply told Harry the plan that they had developed most recently, including the upcoming trip to Albania. Harry still wouldn't meet either of their eyes, but nodded and cast his gaze down to the corner of the desk before him.

"So, there isn't anything else you need from me right now?" Harry chewed the inside of his cheek.

Sirius and Albus shared a concerned look. "No. I will send you an owl once we are ready to begin moving the Horcruxes out of the items." Albus told him.

"Alright then." Harry stood up and went for the door quickly.

"Do you think I should follow him?" Sirius asked Albus, not really looking for an answer. In his mind he was questioning if James would go after him. Lily probably would have. She would have made him sit down and talk through every little thing that was going on in his head right then.

She would have been an amazing mother. She had been up until the end. Right until the very last heartbeat. James too, he would have been a great father. He'd been hoping to have a whole slew of kids. Being raised as an only child had left his early years lonely. His parents had simply been too old once they'd managed to settle down properly.

Sirius didn't wait for Albus to say anything. "I'll locate what we need and get it here with the Horcruxes. I need to deal with this first," he called over his shoulder as he followed Harry out.

He couldn't help feeling like he'd royally fucked up. Like he should have told Harry the day that Albus had shared the possibility with him and Remus. But he hadn't, and it was like he'd another test as a guardian. He followed the familiar path back to Gryffindor, ignoring the looks the students in the hall were giving him. He wasn't a professor, and there were really no other proper adults that came to the school, so he would have been an odd sight.

With the fat lady before him he wasn't sure what he should do. Going into Gryffindor Tower at this stage of his life felt wrong. That was supposed to be a safe space for the students to just be, they didn't need he and Harry essentially making a scene.

"Sirius?" called a voice from down the stairs behind him.

He spun around and saw Ron climbing the steps with Hermione at his side. "Hi Ron, good to see you. Think you could do me a favor?" His relationship with Ron had been smooth sailing since he'd revealed himself. Ron was one to simply roll with the punches, and had admitted that after finding out about Peter being his rat he felt that Sirius was given a pass for deceiving them like he did.

"Did something go wrong after I left?" Hermione asked.

"Got her in one," Sirius cringed. "Harry was pretty upset and frustrated when he left. I just wanted to check on him, but me going in there," he jutted his thumb at the portrait, "just seems wrong on some level."

"That, and you don't have the password," Ron grinned easily. "Why don't you wait here and I'll go check on him?" He moved around him and went through the portrait hole.

Hermione continued to stand on the steps though. Sirius gave her an awkward tight smile. "So…" he started. She was staring at him curiously, as though trying to figure out exactly what it was that her best mate would be upset about after what they'd seen. "Started on your story yet?"

"Article," she corrected and tilted her head at him. "Just how big a role is Harry supposed to be playing in all this?" Her voice was even, but he could hear a threat somewhere in her tone. She was a loyal friend, which was great for him to see for his godson. It had been a crazy few months, and Harry needed loyal friends.

"Please understand that I would love to keep Harry out of this mess as much as possible, and if everything goes according to plan then he will come out of this unscathed," he winced slightly. "Outwardly anyhow," he corrected.

Grabbing onto the stone banister he lowered himself down to sit on the steps while he waited for Ron to bring Harry out. There was no way that anyone involved was going to get out of this without the knowledge of what had happened leaving a mark. Harry was probably going to be angry for quite a while, and rightly so. Sirius himself wished that Albus had started looking into the Horcruxes earlier on, and methods to remove them.

"How did you and Harry become friends?" Sirius asked her.

Hermione looked surprised at the question. She was a brilliant girl, no question, but he couldn't have seen James, Remus or himself befriending her like Harry had. Having a best friend that was a girl would have been completely out of question for him when he was young. Girls had been a fun distraction from his life, not his confidants.

"Um," she started. "Well, we met on the train. Neville had lost his toad and Harry offered to help he and I find it. After we did we just found a compartment and the two of them just," she paused and gave a chuckle, "they just listened while I went on and on about what I'd read in Hogwarts: A History."

Sirius gave her a small smile. His first train ride to Hogwarts was when he met James too. It was amazing that the three of them wound up being such great friends even with their widely varying interests; Harry in Defense and Quidditch, her in academics and Neville in Herbology.

"Thank you for keeping him in line all these years," Sirius told her.

Hermione gave a good-natured shrug and sigh, "Someone had to take up the task." Her smile faltered. "I wish he would have told me about his home life though," she frowned. "Is that what this is about?" she gestured to his morosely sitting on the cold stairs.

"No," he shook his head. "No, this has something to do with what we all just saw in the memories."

There was a shine of interest in her eyes.

"No." he said flat.

"No what?" she played off. "I didn't say anything."

He gave a huff of amusement through his nose and shook his head. This would easily be fodder for her 'articles', but it wasn't for her to know unless Harry wanted her to. He certainly wasn't going to be spilling any of Harry's secrets, and absolutely not before the Horcrux in Harry's body was removed.

The portrait hole opened up behind him and he swung around. "He's not in here." Ron told him, coming down the steps to stand by he and Hermione. "Ginny was in the Common Room, she said she hasn't seen him. Even went up with me to check," he lowered his voice, "you know, the Map."

Sirius nodded. "Okay," he sighed and stood up. "Please let him know I was looking for him. Let him know that I, well… Let him know I'd like to talk to him more. Check in on him."

"We'll watch out for him. Don't worry." Hermione promised.

Her saying that wasn't going to help too much with the mood he'd been in. At least his friends knew that Harry had something on his mind that had put him in a weird place though. Sirius figured he may as well go and drop a line to Remus before heading home and sending off an Owl to Harry at least.

There were still other tasks that he had to take care of. At least he could focus on that. Getting those done would mean that they could get the piece out of Harry sooner.

()()()

It had to have been some point after dinner that the door opened.

"Oh my," the mans voice exclaimed as they surveyed the damage.

Harry was exhausted. He was glad though that it was Remus that had tracked him down.

He'd escaped away to the Room of Requirement after leaving Dumbledore's office that afternoon. This room really was a marvel. It could call up piece after piece of furniture or exercise dummy for him to destroy. He'd gotten so worked up in the Headmaster's office, and there was a morbidly curious side of him that wondered just how much magical energy he might have. And if he harnessed his anger, would his spells work better than they had when he was practicing in class? So that's what he'd done.

The ground was absolutely littered with shrapnel. Splinters and wedges and planks of wood were everywhere. Every time he managed to get incredibly angry he barely needed to say the incantation before something was blowing up. So either he was incredibly gifted at blowing things up, he was getting better at non-verbal spells, or this piece of a Dark Lord inside him really did give him more power.

Thinking about that last one made him want to blow up even more pieces of the school's furniture. He didn't want this inside him.

"Watch your step," Harry cautioned.

"Are you feeling even a little better now?" Remus asked as he drew closer.

"Nope." Harry stated and picked up a wedge of wood from a broken piece of furniture beside him and threw it with minimal effort away from him. "Just tired and hungry."

"Yes," he commented. "This looks like it would have taken quite a bit of energy."

"Whose energy though? Mine, or his?" Harry asked bitterly.

Remus said nothing for a few moments, he just took up on the floor beside him and surveyed the mess. "You know, I haven't told Dora that I'm a werewolf yet," he told him.

Harry looked over at him. He'd been looking to be in such a better mood over these last few months. Lighter and happy. It was only since Christmas when he'd told Harry about his affliction that he'd paid attention and seen the subtle signs of weary as the full moon drew closer. He'd really perfected the perfect cocktail of restorative potions and pepper-up, he may have even utilized some make-up as well to hide the dark circles. Either way, he still seemed in a much better mood than he'd ever known him to be.

"You really like her?" he asked. She'd seemed really cool, but there was a large age gap so they might not have a whole lot in common.

"Pretty sure I'm in love with her. But it is a huge secret to tell her, and I don't know if it might be too early," he told him easily. "The thing is though, with being a Werewolf, it is a big part of me. I change into a beast once, sometimes twice, a month. I don't know her views on it. There are certainly several out there that have given people like me a bad rap. The one that turned me for instance, he did so maliciously. It was to get back at my father for something."

Harry's jaw dropped. He hadn't shared that little tidbit over their chat at Christmas. What a horrible thing to do to a child.

"I don't think she'll have a problem with it. It isn't like it's your fault, or you can do anything to stop it." Harry offered.

Remus nodded. "That's the general consensus, but I still have my concerns. I don't want her blaming certain behaviors of mine on the fact that I am a werewolf. I don't want any future arguments of ours to have it thrown in my face. I don't even want her linking the fact that I prefer my steaks rare to my being a monster."

Harry's brow creased at that and he frowned deeply. It was simply a part of him, his life choices might have been somewhat influenced by it, but that didn't mean that every aspect of his life was defined by it.

"It isn't the same." Harry deadpanned. Remus was trying to draw a parallel between his lycanthropy and Harry's Horcrux. "You knew about it."

"You're damn right it isn't the same. Yours will be removed, I will be like this until I die," he bit back. "I get that you are still processing, and you absolutely have a right to be angry about it, but it isn't forever."

Harry cast his gaze down. "I know that. They told me. But I don't know how much of my life was affected by this. And this," he gestured around the room. "I don't know if it was just my magic that caused it all. When, when I get angry my magic just seems to radiate out of me," he told him. "When we were watching the memories that Dumbledore showed us I could see some resemblance between myself and him, Riddle."

"You aren't-"

"We were both orphans who didn't really know who our parents were. I mean, I knew that Aunt Petunia was my mothers sister. I'd seen other siblings at my school, one was generally like the other in behavior and such. What could I think but that my mum would have been just like her, a nosy busy-body that treated me horribly. It wasn't until I met Hagrid that I was told anything about them that was true. Uncle Vernon had told me my father was a good-for-nothing that was the reason they'd died in a car crash."

Remus sucked in a ragged breath.

"Even the way that Tom Riddle looked. Dark hair, slightly malnourished. I can't help it. It looked like he worked pretty hard to keep his emotions in check, but when he didn't you could _see_ his power in his eyes. When I get really worked up, I have little bursts of power as well."

"Harry, your magic, well, it could be related, but you won't know until afterwards. And I talked to Sirius, he is working to get the other Horcruxes removed as soon as possible so that we can get yours out as well," he moved closer and tentatively put an arm around his shoulders. "You might feel different, you might feel the same. If you really want to be in here destroying everything, then I think that is a good outlet. But your friends are worried about you."

Harry frowned at that.

"You aren't worried about what they'll think, are you?"

Harry pursed his lips and shifted his shoulders slightly.

"Harry?"

He looked up at him then. "How long did it take you to tell your friends?" he asked seriously.

Remus tensed up before he sagged back. "I didn't," he said softly. "James and Sirius figured it out. They cornered me when I was in second year, made me confirm it." His eyes went unfocused and glassy. "I had expected them to want me gone, instead they accepted me and started working to become Animagus so they could help me through the change," he gave a small smile at the memory. "And your friends will react the same way."

Harry shook his head. Remus didn't know that for sure. Hermione, she'd probably do all the research that she could, but Neville? His parents had been driven insane from the torture that Tom Riddle's followers inflicted on them. Neville wouldn't want to be associated with anyone linked to Riddle like that.

Ron might be okay with it though, but what about Ginny? How was she going to want to be with him when she found out that it wasn't just him that she was being with? What if this little piece of soul was sitting there in the back of his head watching what they'd been getting up to? What if that piece was what drove him to act on his impulses like he had?

"Harry," Remus cut through his thoughts. "Harry, they will still stand by you. All of them. You picked a good lot, I promise you."

"You said they are worried about me right now?" he asked, feeling a touch of weary and panic. "That means that they know that there's something wrong?"

"Well," he started. "I guess Sirius tried to follow you shortly after you left the Headmaster's office and came across Ron and Hermione. He asked that they get you to reach out to him."

"Fantastic," sighed Harry. "That means that they'll be hounding me about what is going on as soon as I get back."

"Having people care and worry about you," he started, "what a nightmare."

Harry narrowed his eyes at him, "Am I allowed to tell my professor to shut-up?"

"I wouldn't recommend it," he smiled slightly. "Look, I know that this is hard for you, and I'm sorry we didn't tell you as soon as we found out-"

"But you wanted to have good news with the bad, yeah, Sirius told me," Harry shrugged off the excuse.

"Yes, and I've been over everything I know about you and our history together. I'm optimistic that it is just you making the decisions you have. You are a good person, Harry," he promised. "I see so much of your mother and your father in you. Nothing to tell me that you have a dark entity inside you. And this," he gestured at the mess around them. "This is just you letting off steam. It's healthy."

Harry nodded morosely. Remus had known him for nearly four years now. Remus knew he always tried to be nice, and well mannered, and not in the forced and careful way that he'd witnessed Tom Riddle being. "I think I just need a little more time," he told him honestly. "I hear what you're saying, but," he sighed, "I think I just need a little longer before I'm ready to go back to Gryffindor and have to explain what happened."

"Completely understood," he pulled up his knees and rested his arms on them. "Mind if I sit here silently for a while with you?"

He felt a tingling in his nose at the offer and a warm sensation in his chest. "I'd like that. Thanks."

()()()

Remus left Harry in the Room of Requirement after near on an hour of companionable silence. It seemed time to go once Harry had managed to eat the dinner that the room had provided. He looked to be in better spirits.

It might have been a poor decision to compare his problem with his own lycanthropy, but there were parallels. He'd been bitten at such a young age and it was a part of him that he wished he didn't have. It did affect his decision-making processes, but he had been aware of it. That was the main difference.

The first few years after he'd been bitten his family had shielded him from any prejudice, but because he was so young, he didn't know that his life was supposed to have been different from how it was. It wasn't until he was eight or nine that he asked why it was that he didn't go to normal school, like the children in his stories. Then they told him the truth.

Now, it was simply a part of him.

He wanted to talk to someone about all of this, and he didn't want it to be Albus, and Sirius was busy.

Dora would be home by now though. And he cared too much for her to hide it any longer.

Making his way to his office he mechanically threw Floo powder in his fireplace and called out her grate before he could talk himself out of it. He hadn't discussed his talking to her about this with Albus or Sirius. Sirius would understand, he wasn't so sure about Albus.

"Remus!" she cried out in surprise, coming down the little hallway. She'd been home long enough to get changed out of her uniform and into her short pajamas.

He grinned at the sight of her. God, she always looked so refreshing, her whole aura so bouncy. And yet he knew that she was tough and capable of anything. He just hoped she'd be capable of taking this news and still caring for him after.

His expression must have dropped, because her delighted face turned to worry rather quickly.

"What's wrong?" she asked and came to him, pulling his hand so he would fall with her onto the couch.

"I have to tell you something," he managed.

"Is the world ending?" she joked, an attempt to ease the tension.

He cringed slightly. "Maybe," he said quietly to himself. At her raised eyebrows he collected himself and gave a mental shake, trying to prepare for the worst kind of reaction. "I'm…" his hand shook slightly and he clutched at the fabric of his trousers by his knee. "Remember when you thought that I might have been prejudiced about… how you're a Metamorph?"

Her eyes went wide, clearly she didn't think that would be a problem this far along in their relationship. "Remus, what-"

"I'm not!" he clarified. "The issue was actually about my worrying that, well, that you might hold a prejudice."

Her head tilted slightly and brow furrowed. "Um… ageism? Or against professors?" she tried guessing, a wearily humorous smile coming to her face.

"Uh…" he breathed out and gave a hard swallow. Just rip of the band-aid, "Dora, I'm… a … werewolf."

Her mouth set and eyes focused in on his every feature of his face, as though checking to see if he might have been lying to her. "Since when?" she asked after ascertaining that he was being honest.

"I was bitten when I was five," he told her quietly. He wanted to reach out and take her hand but was concerned that she might not want to touch him now. He cast his gaze over to her coffee table. He needed to give her some time to process that. She probably didn't want to touch him right now and would feel uncomfortable with his eyes on her. His not looking at her would probably help her process this right now.

"Remus," she started. "That was why you didn't want to start anything? Because you thought I wouldn't want to be with you once I knew?"

She sounded sad about it. He winced slightly, that had been his reason for not having a long-term relationship, and she had nearly come out and say that was what she'd been looking for after their first non-date.

"I've received a poor response to it before," one his friends helped him recover from by obliviating his ex-girlfriend. But he wasn't going to share that story with her. "I just… we've been getting on so well. I love being with you," he looked up at her again. He couldn't gauge her expression though. "I didn't want to keep carrying on any longer with out you knowing." He lifted his hand to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, something he'd done several times before, but stopped and put his hand back down on his leg. "I can leave and let you, um, process."

"What?" she exclaimed in confusion. "You want to drop that bomb on me and bail?"

He was taken aback slightly. "Well. I thought you might be more comfortable coming to terms with that with-out me around."

She closed her eyes and shook her head before opening them again. She didn't look the least bit scared of him. "Do you want a drink?"

"Um… okay." He wasn't entirely sure what this was. Surely, she would have questions and concerns. "You aren't going to break up with me immediately?" he couldn't stop himself from asking.

"And pass on the best sex of my life? I think not!" she got up and went to the kitchen.

He rose to follow her, not quite believing his ears. Not only was she not scared of him, but she was still wanting to shag him? She handed him a beer and grabbed one for herself.

"How do you manage to hide it from your students? Surely one of them would have connected the dots with any regular disappearing acts," she asked.

"Well, there is a potion I take that essentially makes me sleep through the full moon, and I have restorative potions and, erm, make-up," he admitted with a blush.

She grinned, "Really? Got any hot tips for me to achieve the 'natural' look?"

"I promise you, you don't need any tips, you're gorgeous enough as it is," he commented and felt comfortable enough with her reaction to hug her to himself and kiss her softly. A large weight had been let off his shoulders and he his endorphins from the stress relief were beginning to make him feel giddy and wonderful.

"So…" she looked up at him coyly. "You telling me this, it's quite a big step, no?"

"Rather enormous for me, yes," He admitted with a chuckle. "It is only a handful of people in my life that I've told. Right now it's you, Sirius, Albus, Severus, Harry, Minerva and Poppy. That's pretty much it."

"Wow, exclusive club I've just joined," she grinned. "And can I assume I am now in this club because I've become rather important to the president?"

He grinned down at her. "Very."

She sighed in pleasure and relaxed into his arms. "Good," she said into his chest. "You're very important to me too."

He too sunk into the embrace. She cared about him, and she didn't care that he was a wild and uncontrollable animal once, sometimes twice, a month. There was a tingling wave of relief that coursed through his entire body and he hugged her closer.

For a moment he wondered if he should tell her about this next part. He didn't want there to be any more secrets though. She was a good person, and he wanted to be with her completely, that meant being able to discuss everything he had on his mind. Even though they'd only been together for a few months, he felt like it had been longer.

"There's something else I want to tell you," he managed.

She pulled back and looked up at him with a twinkle in her eyes. "I knew it, you have a litter of puppies out there somewhere, don't you?"

He barked out a laugh at that and pulled her in for a kiss before guiding them back to her couch and locking up the Floo. "No, I don't have any children out there anywhere. Trust me on that one."

"I do trust you," she told him importantly.

"Good," he sighed. "Because this next thing I have to tell you is going to sound incredibly outlandish." And with that, he launched into the story of Tom Riddle as he knew it thus far, starting with the discovery of the Locket at Sirius' family home over Christmas, and the events that followed.

She listened with rapt attention as he explained every important vessel they'd discovered since then, and finished with finding Harry in the Room of Requirement right before he headed over to her place.

"I want to go," she told him in a rush once he'd finished his story.

"What? Go where?" he asked in confusion.

"To Albania. I want to help, if I can."

"Dora, I hadn't even planned on myself going and you want to?"

"What?" she asked incredulously. "Why wouldn't you want to go?! You've been assisting with it all up until this point, why wouldn't you want to see it through? And even if Sirius and he don't manage to find him, it's still a trip to Albania. I hear it's beautiful there."

"Uh," Remus started. His initial reason for not wanting to go was because he wanted to spend as much time as possible with her as possible during the break. He wanted to spend time with Sirius and Harry as well, but he'd also been wanting to give them some bonding time too. If she was keen on going though, then perhaps they should. "Alright," he smiled down at her. "Let's go to Albania then."

()()()

It was late by the time Harry decided to leave the Room of Requirement. He'd dwelled on what he'd learned for long enough that evening. Remus had left a few hours ago. Having him there with him, even just for the companionable silence, was nice. It had made him feel like he wasn't alone in all this.

He'd started to feel alone in it again after he'd left though.

The room had cleaned itself up around him as he'd sat there. Piece after piece of broken furniture simply disappeared. It had to have been because he didn't want to look at it anymore.

It really was a remarkable room.

The first thing he saw when he left the room and went into the corridor was Ginny sitting on the floor across from the door.

His jaw relaxed at the sight of her there. He didn't know how long she'd been there waiting for him, but surely if she'd seen Remus exiting she would have simply slipped into the room after him. She had her book bag with her and a text open in her lap.

She was looking up at him with a mixture of anger and concern.

Her eyes on him made him feel like a startled animal that was frozen in its spot. He wasn't sure what to do. Until that moment he'd completely forgotten that they'd talked about meeting up after his meeting with Sirius and Dumbledore. They were going to do homework, or… other things to fill their time.

She must have talked to Hermione though, and known that he'd been asked to stay back. How would she have known that he was in the Room though? He could have easily still been in Dumbledore's office. Unless Dumbledore had been at dinner in the Great Hall. He could have asked his friends how he was fairing as well.

His shoulders sagged and brow furrowed then. She knew something was wrong, there was no way he was going to be able to hide that from her. She was too stubborn and determined for him to be able to convince her to just let any of his moodiness or behavior slide.

"Ginny," he said quietly as the door behind him closed and disappeared.

"Harry," she replied evenly and stood up, slinging her book bag over her shoulder before she began pacing calmly.

He let out a sigh and turned back around, waiting for another door to appear in front of him. When it did he opened it and held it open for her to enter first. She passed by him and he caught another whiff of her scented shampoo. Savoring the scent he couldn't help but wonder if it was really him that enjoyed the smell, or if it was Riddle.

The room had changed into a small version of the Gryffindor common room. A round table in the corner with a wall of filled bookshelves and a lit fireplace with a comfortable two seater couch in front of it. Ginny tossed her book bag on the table and kicked off her shoes before sitting down on the couch. She looked up at him from where she sat expectantly.

There wasn't anything he could do but join her on the couch.

Sitting down he stared into the flames as he felt her eyes on him. He wasn't sure what to say right then. He didn't know if he could just launch into the whole story.

Ginny reached over and took one of his hands in hers. "Harry," she drew out his name. "Please? You're making it worse for me just sitting there quietly."

He managed to look down at their joined hands. "What did Hermione tell you?" That would be a good place to start. Perhaps if she got talking then it would be easier for him to tell her what happened.

"She told us you saw three memories. One from before, during and after Hogwarts. It gave her a better understanding of what he was like," she said. "But she also mentioned that you were asked to stay. And whatever it was that you were told has obviously rattled you." Her hand came up to run through his hair gently.

He closed his eyes at the sensation.

"Sirius came searching for you," she told him. "He came to Gryffindor Tower. You weren't there, so I checked the map and saw you weren't on it anywhere. Figured you'd come here."

"Did Sirius stay?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head. "I guess he had an important task to take care of, and he rushed off to deal with it."

He nodded. The sooner they dealt with all the other Horcruxes the sooner they could get the one out of him.

"His owl came and dropped off a letter for you though," she told him. "It's in my bag. Do you want me to get it?"

"Not yet," he managed. He looked up at her face. She seemed as tense as he was, clearly she wasn't doing well with not knowing what was going on.

"Harry," she put her hand on his shoulder and came forward. He turned his head abruptly. He couldn't kiss her, not right now. He felt her freeze from his rebuff. Slowly she pulled back and removed her hands from him, sliding back to sit as far away from him as the couch would allow.

They were both silent for a few minutes. She was waiting, and she was being entirely patient. He couldn't find the words though.

"There's…" he started. "They said that he was making six of them." His voice was low, but it was silent in the room otherwise.

"Six?" she asked. "Six of… six of the Horcruxes?" she cottoned on. "So then does that include him being a wraith or whatever in Albania?"

"No," he shook his head. "Dumbledore said that because he'd ripped his soul apart so much, he was getting fairly fragile in the end, and, and he made the sixth one by accident. You know, right before he disappeared."

She remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"When he tried to kill me, his spell sort of rebounded. And Dumbledore figures that caused another piece of his soul to rip off and just… attach itself to the only other thing in the room," He said. He peeked up to see what her reaction to that was, whether she'd understood what that meant.

"But," she started. He watched as her mouth opened slightly, then closed, and repeated the movement.

"He checked to make sure. I guess he finally figured out a spell that could confirm his theory."

"Can he destroy it? Without hurting you?" she asked desperately.

He nodded. "Yeah. He's going to deal with the three that are in Sirius' vault first. They have some sort of plan for transferring the soul pieces into something or other. They need me to open the locket still. I might not be able to if they remove the Horcrux from me first."

"You think that's why you can speak Parseltongue?" she asked.

He nodded. "And I don't know what else about me it has affected either," he said morosely.

"What, you think it's changed your likes and abilities?" she asked curiously. "Think you won't like treacle tart or something?" she tried lightening the mood a little.

"Not something I was concerned about," he told her darkly, still looking into the flames.

She was quiet, staring at him intently. "What were you concerned about?" she asked in a whisper, a small quiver in her voice.

He looked over at her, not able to form an answer for her verbally. Her whole body was stiff, and her face looked paler than it had a moment ago.

"Me?" she asked. "You think it's him that made you fancy me?"

He looked back at the flames again, not wanting to see any tears that might come to her eyes. That was a major concern. He didn't care if he didn't like treacle tart after the Horcrux was gone, he didn't care if he was suddenly crap at DADA, all he cared about was whether his relationships with his friends and she remained the most important part of his life.

But what if it was Riddle that was attracted to her? What if after it was removed he wasn't in love with her anymore and he suddenly found all of her cute little habits and touches grating? Up until around noon today she was the most sure thing he had going in his life. He was completely in love with her and didn't think anything was ever going to change that.

Well, this could very well change that. And his feelings as they were right now were telling him that he had to prepare her for that.

"Fuck you, Harry," she bit out.

His head snapped over to her. She couldn't have just said what it was his ears had heard.

"Fuck you!" she repeated.

Okay, maybe she had said it.

"You really think that Tom Fucking Riddle was ever capable of loving anyone? You think he had any real feelings? For Merlin's sake, he didn't even like Quidditch! I've read through his school file, there wasn't even a mention of him attending the games. Nothing about a girlfriend either. If he wasn't such a manipulative bastard he wouldn't have any 'friends' either," she used air quotes. "If anything, you wanting to be with me is proof that the Horcrux hasn't dictated your life in any way." She came forward onto her knees beside him. She didn't look sad, just angry and defiant. "You can speak Parseltongue, sure, but so far as I'm concerned that's the only similarity between the two of you. You are good and kind and loving. He wasn't. EVER. So, don't you dare try to push me away."

"Ginny," he stood up. He didn't want to get further away from her, but he had to make her see his reasoning and he couldn't if she was that close. She was making good points, but her ranting wasn't going to stop him from wondering how much of his personality was influenced by him. "I'm not going to stop being worried just because you make some valid points. This changes things."

"Between us?" she asked angrily. "What is it you want Harry? For us to take a break until you get it all sorted?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed loudly.

"Excuse me?" she stood up.

"Well…" he paused awkwardly. No, no he didn't want to take a break, but now that it was out there, wouldn't it seem like a logical thing to do? Just until he had the Horcrux removed and he knew it was only his soul in his body. Only him that was spending blissful moments with her.

"Well. What." She chewed out.

"It'll only be for a small while," he told her unevenly.

She just stared at him aghast.

"I don't want to, but… but…" he couldn't get the words out.

"But?" she challenged. "But you figure now that you have this life changing news you want to be done with me until you're given the all clear? Guess I should line up a new date to Hogsmead then."

"What?" he exclaimed in horror.

"Well, you're apparently done with me. FOR NOW. That means I'm free to see whomever I'd like, right?" her eyes narrowed.

"No!"

"Oh, so you don't know if you want me, but you do know you don't want me to see anyone else?"

"I do know I want you!" he argued.

"You sound pretty sure of that. A moment ago you were concerned it was Riddle that wanted me."

"No. Don't. Damn it, Ginny. You know what I mean," he yelled.

"I do. And I think you sound like a bloody idiot," she yelled back.

"Ginny, please," his voice cracked. "Please tell me you get where I'm coming from. Even just a little."

Her expression softened and he saw the glassiness building in her eyes. "I do. And I'm not letting you break up with me over this," she told him, stepping towards him and placing her hands on his hips. "If you don't want to be intimate until Dumbledore gets this thing out of you, then fine. But don't you dare try to break it off with me until that happens. Because I will find some poor sod to court me, just to rub your nose in it and make you regret it."

The corner of her lips twitched as she threatened him. He knew she didn't mean that, but he also knew there would be a few boys interested in taking up the challenge of her if given the opportunity. He didn't want to give them the opportunity.

So, fine, if she was okay with being patient with him, then they would give that a try.

"Okay," he nodded, and instinctively reached out and pulled her closer. "I don't know when they're going to remove it. If it's going to be a week or a month, or two."

"I don't care," she shook her head. "I can wait."

He let out a deep sigh and rested his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry I said that," he whispered. "I can't promise I'm done freaking out yet." There was still a ball of lead resting in his stomach of it.

She hugged him a little tighter. "That's understandable. Please just talk to someone next time, instead of making stupid decisions that make me yell at you. I don't like doing it."

He huffed out a laugh. "You are rather good at it though."

She shook her head. "You're an idiot," she told him lovingly.

()()()


	29. Transferring

**AN- Don't know how many out there reading this are nitpickers, but apparently Easter 1997 was in March. Well, I'm changing the calendar. Easter will be the second weekend in April. Like it was for 2020.**

**()()()**

**Chapter 29- Transferring **

**()()()**

The three of them tilted their heads at the thing in its cage. Harry would have called it a Zombie given how he was raised with Muggles, someone else might have just referred to it as a monster of some kind. Remus and Sirius were calling it an Inferi though.

He'd heard them mentioned before. Never thought he'd see one. He hoped he'd never see one anyhow.

It was one week after he'd been told about the Horcrux inside of him and in that time they'd managed to transfer the two Horcruxes out of the cup and the ring and into the Inferi.

Now the Inferi was pacing back and forth in the space it was provided and glaring at them.

Harry was pretty sure that Inferi weren't supposed to be able to glare like that. They were supposed to be what the Muggles portrayed in their zombie movies; mindless and wanting to eat your flesh, or some such nonsense. This was because of the two pieces of soul that had been transferred to the thing that it had more human like tendencies.

Sirius and Remus had tried to warn him about what it was going to look and behave like, and smell like, but no description could really do it justice. It was in ratty clothes that seemed permanently waterlogged or stained with grease or something. Its face was so droopy, it was like someone had peeled the skin off of a large man and stuck it on this smaller man's frame. Its pacing back and forth was hindered by what appeared to be a broken ankle. Completely broken. There even seemed to be a piece of bone showing through the paper-thin skin.

And the stench!

They must have put up some kind of ward or charm to freshen the air, but it either wasn't strong enough, or it didn't last very long. The air in the room was putrid and assaulted his nose the moment he stepped in.

His task today was to open the locket that the third piece of soul was in for Dumbledore to transfer it to the Inferi. Why they wanted them all in the one creature was beyond his comprehension. They'd killed off the other two pieces, but they must have some reason for transferring these one's.

He hadn't gotten around to asking yet. He would, but right now he was focused on doing his part, and hopefully he would have the Horcrux inside him gone by this time tomorrow.

It had been explained to him just how much power Dumbledore had been requiring for this task, the restorative potions only did so much. His Headmaster had transferred the first Horcrux the Sunday before, the day after they'd informed Harry of the other presence in his body. Sirius had managed to get the Inferi from someone in Knockturn Alley after a night of searching and consulting with some rather unsavory characters, but his deep pockets had kept the criminal elements interested and himself safe. It helped that he rather detested the history behind the money in his vault and it really was no object to him.

After the first Horcrux was transferred Dumbledore had requested two days to recover and attempt the second one. They'd started with Hufflepuff's cup and Sirius had gifted that back to the Smith family it had been stolen from. Next they'd done the ring. That one Dumbledore had requested Sirius place back in his family vault until such a time as he could figure out who the rightful owner was, not wanting the 'temptation' of it around.

After each piece of soul was placed into the Inferi they'd had House Elf's checking in on the creature to feed and monitor it. It hadn't said anything. So far as they knew it didn't have the ability to say anything, its voice box being too far damaged through the decomposition of the body. The eyes though, through the eyes they could see that it seemed to be able to follow and comprehend what was happening to it.

Harry shuddered every time he looked at the thing.

"Ready Harry?" asked Dumbledore, showing him where to stand. The Locket was on a coffee table between them and the Inferi in its cage.

"Ready." Harry sucked in a breath and looked at the locket intently before closing his eyes and drawing up the image of a snake, just like he had to get into the Chamber of Secrets. "Open," he hissed.

The sound of the metal latch springing open made Harry open his eyes. He saw billowing smoke coming out of the locket and stared at it in awe and fear as it took on the appearance of Ginny looking at him disdainfully. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could her eyes turned to Dumbledore beside him. Her form morphed into a different girl, one around the same age as Harry was, with long dark hair and soulful eyes. "It was your fault," she cried. "How could you not have known?"

Harry didn't understand, but it seemed that Dumbledore had. He wasn't paying attention to what the girl was saying though, he was concentrating on his wrist movements and repeating an incantation under his breath. The smoky shape of the girl began to glow as it drifted backwards towards the Inferi. She gave a loud scream that began to echo as though it was falling as the smoke was sucked into the body of the creature. The sound stopped once the last of the smoke was engulfed by the thing.

Dumbledore heaved a sigh and swayed slightly. Harry lunged to catch him under one of his arms, Sirius came up to grab his other.

"I would like to say that I wish we could help you with those spells," Sirius commented. "But I really wouldn't trust anyone but yourself to be strong enough to pull it off."

Well, that strength of Dumbledore's was dwindling as Harry felt him relax more into their grip, allowing them to carry him over to a chair behind him. Remus came to stand in front of him with a goblet full of the restorative potion.

"Thank you," Dumbledore managed before greedily drinking it down.

"That wasn't too bad," Harry offered weakly.

Sirius scoffed. "No, he needs to get better material too," he looked back at the creature.

Harry followed his eye line and frowned at the sight of the thing. It looked as though there were bee's buzzing around inside its head. It kept banging the side of its head with the palm of one hand, then rapping it on the bar of its cage.

"What's it doing?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Best we can guess is that now that there is three pieces of his soul in there, and nothing else, it kind of has competing personalities." Remus offered; he too was now watching the thing with a sort of morbid fascination.

"I have to wonder if, because the three pieces of soul were made at different stages in Riddle's life, if it is like having an eighteen-year-old, a thirty-year-old, and a forty-year-old all living in one head and competing for dominance." Sirius wondered aloud.

"Weirdest case of split personality disorder," Remus joked darkly.

"Multiple personalities that are all the same personality?" Harry queried. He couldn't help thinking that he should be the one to know what it was like, but until the thing was removed from his body he wouldn't _really_ know. "You said he 'needs to get new material'," Harry asked Sirius. "Did that girl show up the last two times too?"

"Yes," he answered.

They looked to Dumbledore, who's eyes were drooping.

"He's told us she was his sister, and something bad happened that he blames himself for, but didn't have any real control over. Her appearing was probably some kind of Boggart type security system," he offered by way of explanation. He looked curiously at Harry then. "Why did Ginny appear first?"

Harry's jaw clenched shut then. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Sirius or Remus about that yet. He hadn't even talked to Neville or Ron about it, and certainly not Hermione, she'd probably have smacked him with a book before crying and promising him that nothing would change and they'd all still love him.

He didn't need that.

Ginny had been mercifully distant, but not too much. They still spent nearly every waking hour together, but the closest they'd got to touching again after leaving the Room of Requirement seven days ago was when they'd accidentally reached for the same piece of toast at breakfast. She understood his concerns and had been right to tell him off like she had.

The thought of following through with breaking up with her until this was all over was like a knife to his heart. He hadn't thought that one through. He didn't want that at all. Just a few more days and they'd see if there was any change. In the meantime they'd just keep passing each other longing looks and ignoring their impulses.

The looks she'd been giving him were helping him in a way also. He could see that she wanted to be with him, even though he was being overly cautious. And those looks had him feeling assured that whatever was about to come out of smoke-Ginny's mouth would be a lie. From the expression of the Boggart-Type-Security Ginny she was about to tell him that they were done, that he wasn't anything with-out the little piece of Riddle inside him. Probably going to tell him that that was the only interesting thing about him. Maybe that Riddle was the one that had actually been able to satisfy her during sex, or something equally as petty that had been plaguing his subconscious.

"I don't really want to talk about it right now," Harry mumbled.

Sirius didn't press. They all turned back to observe the Inferi who was still pacing and banging his head.

"How long are we meant to watch this for?" Harry asked, rather keen to get out of the stench.

"I'll reinforce the wards around the cage," Remus told them.

Sirius indicated that Harry help him get Dumbledore back to his feet and they assisted him back through to the Headmaster's office.

The room they'd been containing the Inferi in was behind one of the old portraits of a Headmaster from the 1600's, Jessiah Ehnes.

The restorative potion seemed to give the Headmaster the strength enough to get his footing, but he would certainly need a proper night's sleep, probably a proper day's sleep to follow that as well. Harry wished he would bounce back quicker than that, but he was over one hundred year's old, he would need more time to recover before he could attempt to properly remove Harry's Horcrux and not have a mishap.

"I believe I will be able to make it to my quarters from here," he told them. "Harry, thank you for your assistance today. We wouldn't have been able to do that with-out you, and I promise, only a little longer before it is your turn."

Harry did little more than nod in thanks before Dumbledore turned and made his way through a doorway behind his desk that Harry didn't recall having seen there before. Yet another perk of living in a magical castle; disappearing private doorways.

"I think we need to take Harry down to the pub," Sirius told Remus.

"He's sixteen," Remus pointed out with a frown.

"And we were how old when we started drinking at the pub?" Sirius challenged him.

"I wasn't a professor then."

"Alright, then let's go to your quarters," he shrugged.

Harry looked between the two of them. He wasn't sure what exactly this was about, but if Sirius was going to want to feed him some alcohol, he could only imagine the kinds of questions or discussion he had in mind. Over Christmas it was about his sex life with Ginny. After how he'd just seen a version of her glaring at him, he hoped this was just going to be them discussing their Albania trip and the ins and outs of all they hoped to accomplish there.

Remus relented and they headed to his suite. Harry and Sirius got comfortable on opposite ends of the couch and Remus took up in the chair. He had poured Harry a finger of scotch. No more was necessary, he still didn't quite understand any reasoning for drinking the stuff besides enjoying the consequences; it tasted like battery acid.

"Remus and Tonks will be joining us on our trip," Sirius started.

Harry turned to Remus with raised eyebrows. "Really?" he asked with a smile. "That's getting pretty serious, isn't it?"

"It is," he answered proudly. "I told her about my being a Werewolf too and she took it remarkably well."

Harry squinted slightly in thought as he looked at him.

"A few more days," he answered the unasked question of when the next full moon would be. "I'll be fully bounced back by the time we leave."

Harry nodded and looked down at his glass, taking another tentative sip, really just wetting his lips with the stuff.

"She knows about the Horcruxes too. She's quite eager to help out in any way she can," he told them.

"That's good," Sirius stated, though it appeared he already knew that much. "And we'll probably need her to run interference for us with him."

"With who?" Harry asked. Surely not them and himself, he would be on his best behavior. It was going to be his first trip ever, he wasn't planning on stepping out of line at all.

"Erm, well. You see," Sirius started hesitantly.

"Severus Snape," Remus stated.

"What?" It was a good thing that his glass was already resting on his lap, otherwise it would have been spilled all over the couch. This was the first he'd heard of his Potions Professor coming with them. Wasn't he a Death Eater? Wouldn't he want to warn the wraith to stay away?

"I've been talking with him," Remus started. "Myself and Dumbledore. He's been filled in on what we've discovered, and he is willing to help us. Begrudgingly. But only because of the bad history between," he looked up at Sirius who simply pursed his lips and kept quiet. "We believe that because of his former allegiance he will be able to convince the wraith that he is still on his side, and that he wants to return him to his former glory." Remus continued.

"I don't understand," Harry started. "I thought you were going to just trap the wraith and then… uh, kill it?" he wasn't sure if that was the right terminology.

Remus' lips worried. "Thing is, you can't really 'kill' a wraith, just banish it. We don't believe that 'killing' the Inferi once your piece is transferred would make any difference to the wraith either. He needs his own body."

"So, you want to transfer the wraith soul into the Inferi too?" Harry asked.

"No," Sirius stated. "The wraith will be given a body of its own to inhabit, it would never assent to being put into an Inferi's body. There is a whole ritual that will have to be performed for it to receive its own body. Then once that's done we are going to 'kill' the Inferi."

"And then what? Kill the returned Riddle?" he was so confused. What was the purpose of keeping the Inferni alive after Harry's fragment was transferred? They were planning on bringing it with them to Albania as a lure of some sort as well, weren't they?

"That's _my_ plan," Sirius stated, his tone indicated that the others had a different plan in mind.

Harry turned to Remus, "What other plan could there possibly be?"

"Having him pay for his crimes," Remus offered. "Sending him to Azkaban to rot for the rest of his life."

"Keep him alive?" Harry asked astounded. "You think he should stay alive? Until what, one of his actual loyal followers comes along and frees him?"

"Think about it this way Harry," Remus started. "If we do kill the body the wraith goes into, what if there is another Horcrux out there and he simply becomes a wraith again? We could be starting this process all over again, except this time we wouldn't be able to use the same method of getting him again. He'd change his M.O. and we might never be able to find him."

That had Harry sitting back in thought. It was true, they didn't know if the piece in Harry was the sixth Horcrux, or if it was an accidental seventh. Riddle had certainly killed enough people before Halloween 1982 and there was no way that they'd be able to definitively figure out every little thing he'd done as a man before that night. There might be some all-important Yo-yo from his youth he'd hidden somewhere.

"I get it," he stated reluctantly.

"You're on board with the plan?" Remus was looking for assurances.

"Yeah," he nodded and took another small sip of his drink, wincing at the taste.

"So then," Sirius continued, "plan is to trap him in his body form and bring him back to 'answer for his crimes' and stick him in Azkaban. Then I guess we'll wait and see if he passes away from old age or something. Although," he pointed his finger at Remus, "I want to have some say in which cell he gets. I'm all the proof anyone needs that there are ways out of that prison."

Remus looked like he didn't know whether he should smile about that. Instead he turned to Harry. "Now tell us, why did the Horcrux take on Ginny's likeness?"

This time Harry managed to get a decent amount of the amber liquid from his glass in his mouth and drink it down, wanting some of that liquid courage everyone always said spirits were supposed to provide. "Uh, so last Saturday, when I learned about the Horcrux… I nearly broke up with her."

"What?!" the two of them asked loudly.

"Was this before or after I talked to you?" Remus asked.

"After. An hour or so after you left, I was getting ready to head back to Gryffindor and saw her sitting in the hallway waiting for me. We went back into the room and I told her about it," he told them. "I don't know how much of my personality this thing has control over," he explained, "I wanted to, want to, protect her. I don't know if being aware of it will affect my life somehow. I don't know how much of my life and decisions have been affected by it," he reasoned.

"Harry," Sirius started.

"No," he put up his hand. "She already laid into me over it. I don't need to hear again about how I'm too good a person or whatever, Riddle is incapable of love, yada-yada," he told them. "It's just that I _do_ have that concern, and she's trying to be understanding. We know it's only for a little longer, but for the time being we're just… cooling it on the couple stuff," he finished quietly with a blush warming his cheeks.

The stared intently at the liquid that was swirling around in his glass, fully aware that the two of them were exchanging glances, carrying on a conversation with their eyes. He didn't need to be comforted right then. He just needed some understanding and any words of advice kept to themselves. It wasn't like they could say 'I had a friend with the same problem,' then offer some sage wisdom.

He was dealing with this as best he could, and it was killing him that he didn't feel comfortable reaching out to grab her hand when they sat side by side in class. Soon enough it would all be over, and she was impatiently waiting for that day by simply being there and reminding him that she was confident that he was who she wanted, his Horcrux being removed wouldn't change that.

()()()

**Creating a Following** **by George H.M Rannier**

Graduating at the top of one's class provided one with an endless amount of opportunities; offers of placements in the Ministry or apprenticeships with different companies came flooding in to Head students every year. This year was no different, and he'd had plenty of offers seeing as he'd been the Head Boy.

His handsome face had the girls swooning, and his manners and contacts had every potential employer interested in getting him on their pay role. So, it was astounding to everyone when he opted to get a simple job in a simple shop. Head Boy's did not aspire to be working as shop boys. They had so much more potential than that.

This Head Boy knew exactly what he was doing though.

This specific shop, you see, provided him with access to people's homes. He was privy to the inner workings of the most important families, and he knew their secrets, he knew where they hid them and just how much they were worth. He learned how far people were willing to go to protect certain things.

When he wasn't at work he was rallying.

Behind the scenes you see he had a following. Boys and girls that had looked up at him during school were all leaving the hallowed halls and joining the world, becoming their own people, one's that still looked to him for his sage advice.

He had a plan for the world and needed his followers to see just how right his plan was. He also needed them to act on that plan for him.

He had figured out what had become of his family now. Had when he was sixteen. He knew that his mother had been cast aside by her husband, father and brother. He knew that she'd named him after his father in a misguided hope that his father would change his mind and come looking for him. He also knew that his father and uncle had let him stay in that orphanage, never having come searching for him.

No one had come searching for him.

One of the first lessons he'd learned was to look out for himself, not to rely on anyone else. That did not mean, however, that he didn't resent those that had denied him answers about his heritage.

His father for example; he had cast aside his wife when she let the love spell run out, but did that mean that the child was to be abandoned as well? His father had been a Lord, a Muggle one, yes, but he was well capable of caring for the child, he would even have servants to do that for him. And then his grandfather and uncle through his mother, they had still been living in the same hovel, they had rejected his mother because of her fraternization with a Muggle, but was that the baby's fault?

Discovering the reasons why he'd grown up bitter and alone gave him drive. His loneliness gave him time to plan out and orchestrate how he was going to get his revenge though, his bitterness gave him determination.

This young man's work had given him access to the darkest recesses of magic and he was learning how to use it all to his advantage. Dark Spells and appealing to the deep seeded interest of the old Pureblood families had given him advantage. Those he'd gone to school with wanted him for their leader and the one's who hadn't known him then were falling under his spell now.

This little orphan boy was determined to make everyone see his way. Much like a petulant child would through stomping his foot and pouting, but with articulation and facts that had been twisted into his favor. He was perpetually angry, and he wanted everything for himself. He didn't care how far he had to go into the Dark Arts to get it. Already he'd committed several horrible acts of evil; such as tracking down his Muggle father and killing he, his fiancée and his grandparents at the dining table where they'd sat, then pinning it all on his maternal uncle.

You didn't think this orphan boy was a good boy, did you?

()()()

Ginny was anxious for Harry to get back. He'd gone to do his part this evening with unlocking the Locket they'd found on Christmas to get that bit of soul transferred. She just needed to see his face and know that everything went along smoothly. Just one look at his face and then she could go up to bed and have another fitful night's sleep.

She missed him. She'd gotten so used to feeling his touch, now he didn't want her to touch him.

It was only temporary. That was the mantra that she thought over and over again. It was temporary and she was going to be able to say 'I told you so' for the rest of their lives.

At least all this not touching was giving her plenty of time to work ahead on her schoolwork. She'd told Hermione that the both of them had decided it was time to focus on their studies with exam time coming up when she'd mentioned the two of them spending less time disappearing together.

Hermione herself seemed to be in a fairly good mood lately. She'd been visibly rattled when she came back from viewing the memories last Saturday, but Ron seemed to manage calming her down. Ginny still didn't know if they were officially together, but by all appearances Ron had forgiven her for her decision to break up before Christmas. Lavender was not talking to Hermione anyhow, and Ron was spending more time studying with Hermione and she in the library than he had before. Two times in the last week Ginny had left them alone in favor of getting some extra tutoring from Neville in the greenhouses and they'd seemed a little too happy for her to go.

Ginny's study schedule had been doing really well in distracting her from the pit of worry she'd been mentally suppressing every time she thought about what might happen after Harry came back the next time he would be called to the Headmaster's office. She already knew she wouldn't be able to wait any longer than necessary and would probably camp out outside of the Headmasters office and pounce on him the second he left it.

This wasn't that time though, and she had no idea how long the process was supposed to take, but he'd been gone for two hours already. He had to be coming back some time soon, right?

Her heart had nearly stopped last weekend when Sirius had come looking for him and she and the others hadn't been able to find him. Then it happened a second when he suggested they take a break.

She showed him though. What an idiot he was! Thinking he could break up with her, but just temporarily. As if she'd ever just sit up on some shelf until he decided all was good. She wasn't blind, she knew there were other boys interested in her, and she would only hesitate for five seconds before showing Harry what a mistake he'd made.

At least, that was what her feminist mind told her would happen.

That would probably be the advice any other girl would give her. I mean, it worked for Ron, right? He went out with Lavender for a bit and then, BAM, Hermione was regretting every mentioning they consider ending their relationship.

Truthfully she'd probably just curl up in a ball at the bottom of her shower for and hour and then stare longingly at Harry through every class and mealtime, silently begging him to reconsider.

That or she could have just sicked her brothers on him.

Either way her psyche went, she had options for revenge and coping mechanisms.

Harry hadn't really wanted that though, and continue feeling too angry at him for the suggestion, his reasoning for it was legitimate. Probably the most legitimate reason there ever was for a break-up. 'Sorry darling, we'll have to hit pause until this potential possession is all cleared up.'

She didn't believe that it was affecting him and his decisions as much as he worried though. They'd read all about Tom Riddle in the information that Hermione had, coupled with all the news articles. There was no way that any part of Harry that she was in love with came from that monster. If anything, once the Horcrux was gone, he'd be even more caring and brilliant.

As it was, sitting in the common room with one eye on the portrait hole, it was just making this pit in her stomach grow more prominent with every longing glance over at it.

He had to come back soon, right?

Looking down at the revision she was doing wasn't helping too much though. It was DADA that she was re-writing her notes to try and permanently etch the information in her brain. This was Harry's best class and they sat beside each other for it. He was usually right there to help her get the wand movements correct and she could basically smell his soap as she read through her notes.

Hermione wished she and Ron a goodnight and went up to their dorm room. Ron left not much longer after that.

The portrait hole opened at 9:30, but it was just Neville. He had a few smears of dirt on his cheeks and gave her a pleasant wave before heading straight up to his dorm room for a shower. The next time it opened it was Dean Thomas coming back from doing his Prefect rounds.

There were some of the younger years kicking around the room playing Exploding Snap and the Fifth and Seventh years that were studying for their OWL's and NEWT's, they were already stressing about the exams and focusing hard on their own studies. She wasn't even paying her revision any attention anymore, she'd read the same sentence over and over again, but the words didn't make any sense to her.

She gave up and shoved her work back in her bag. She didn't want to run it up to her dorm though, what if Harry came in and went straight to his dorm?

She moved over to sit in one of the vacated armchairs next to two boys playing Exploding Snap and watched their game absent mindedly for something to do.

"Do you want to play?" one of the boys asked her, holding up his deck.

"Uh, no. Thanks. I haven't got the mental space for that," she smiled politely.

"The mental space for Exploding Snap?" the other boy asked skeptically.

Ginny didn't have a response for that other than a shoulder shrug.

"You're Ginny Weasley, right?" the first boy asked. "You're an amazing Chaser," he said admiringly.

"Thanks," she blushed. "Demelza and Katie make it easy for me though. Is Demelza in your year?"

"Yeah," the boy nodded. "I've overheard her saying that she's learned a lot for you though. I'm Dustin by the way," he gestured at his friend. "This is Mitchel, he's a bit prickly."

"Maybe he just needs a shave," she joked taking a look at Mitchel's smooth cheeks. Mitchel's face went red and focused on collecting his scattered cards while Dustin laughed louder than necessary for the joke.

The portrait hole opened again and finally, Harry was back. "'Scuse me boys," she got up and went towards him. "Hey," she searched his face.

He looked pleased to see that she'd waited up for him. "Hey," he greeted her softly, looking relieved to have only her as a greeting party.

"Went alright?" though she could tell the answer from his face. He was much too relaxed for anything to have gone wrong.

"Yeah, we finished up a while ago, just... Sirius and Remus wanted to talk to me after."

She nodded in understanding. "Anything you feel you want to share?" she asked hopefully, biting her lip and wishing he would let her wrap her arms around him at least while she asked about his evening. He was fidgety, but something about his demeanor was off. It was almost like… Ginny couldn't help a grin coming to her face and she leaned forward.

"Ginny!" Harry whispered stiffly at her proximity.

She ignored him though and took a whiff of him. "You've been drinking," she grinned as she pulled back.

He blushed. "They might have given me a bit of a tipple," he admitted.

"You mean Sirius did," she corrected with a knowing smile. "There's no way our Professor would see that as a good idea." She looked around the room. The window seats were empty, it was always colder there, especially at this time of evening. "Come on, you have to tell me something," she gestured for him to follow her.

She took up on one of the cushioned seats, crossing her legs and facing him as he rested his back against the window ledge and looked out over the room, probably making sure no one was listening in.

"We took care of it," he said quietly.

"What was it like?" she couldn't help but wonder. Hermione probably would have been pulling out her own eye teeth to have seen something like that, and Ginny too was brimming with curiosity.

He gave a small shrug. "It opened up easy enough. There was some kind of smoke that came out of it. It acted kind of like a Boggart. Then Dumbledore cast it back to go into the… um," he swallowed and leaned over to her, bringing his head closer to hers than he had in a week. "He's putting them all in an Inferi."

Ginny's jaw dropped. "What… why?" she couldn't fathom the reason. Why not just put it in an animal or something. Just contain it all in one inanimate object. Why did it have to be a previously living being?

Harry pulled back, determined to keep up his social distancing from her. "I think it's more to do with curiosity than anything else. Having three pieces of soul residing in the same being. He'll be able to tell if they merge together over time, considering that they are all just parts of a whole."

She didn't understand that. Would it not be the same no matter what vessel they stored them in. With a shake of her head she disregarded the reasoning behind it. "And what about yours? When will he be able to get it out of you?"

Harry shifted slightly. "He was pretty wiped after he'd dealt with the locket. I don't know if he'll be able to do it again tomorrow. He needed two days rest at least between the cup and the ring. I know there's only me left that they know about, but if he doesn't have enough magical energy to do the job right, then none of us want him trying."

She so wanted to reach out and grab his hand then.

In her opinion he was being overly cautious. Not wanting them to even be touching? They'd done plenty of that before he'd found out, and he'd never once tried to hurt her, nor had there been any kind of ill effect. Usually they made each other feel pretty freaking fabulous.

Oh.

Oh, now she felt rather stupid.

That was the reason; he didn't want any part of Riddle experiencing any more of what they had between them. She had reacted rather poorly when she found out that Seamus knew about them shagging in the orchard, this was that amplified a million times. Harry had a presence somewhere in his body that could be observing them while they were together, feeling some of what they were feeling.

"Just so you know," she said softly. "I'll be waiting there for you when it's all over."

He looked over at her with a sense of reluctant hope and longing shining in his eyes. His fingers twitched in his lap. She hoped that was a sign of him wanting to take her hand then. "I hope…" he started.

"I know," she finished. "I'll still love you when this is all over. You're too good for any of what everyone loves about you to be stemming from _Him_." Ginny was confident in that.

"Sirius and Remus said so as well," he muttered with a small smile and looked back out at the common room.

"Hermione, Neville and Ron will as well. Once we tell them."

He stiffened noticeably. She knew he was tense about having to have that conversation with his friends. He didn't like having to keep this from them. Ginny wasn't keen about it either.

"A few more days," he said.

"A few more days," she nodded.

()()()

Harry was agitated.

It was Wednesday. He had Quidditch Practice today and double potions. He was supposed to be the only person occupying his body for this. But he wasn't.

Still.

How had it been four days already and Headmaster Dumbledore still hadn't felt strong enough to transfer the Horcrux out of him and into that _thing_? He should have bounced back completely by now. It had only taken two days between the first two, then another three days between the second and third ones. Now it was breakfast time on day four and he still hadn't received an owl or anything saying when he would be expected back in the Headmaster's office.

If he went any longer with-out being able to touch Ginny, then someone might notice that as well. And he didn't need anyone prying into this particular part of his personal life. She was being incredibly patient with him as it was.

And he also just wanted this thing gone so that they were closer to getting rid of this maniac for good.

He'd been walking around for long enough with a piece of his parents' killer inside him, whether he'd known about it or not was moot at this point. Now every night before he went to bed, he kept wondering what parts of his life had been affected by this. His school work had been bearing the brunt of his frustration though, in that since he couldn't sleep well nor spend his hours outside of class with his favorite pastime, so all of his assignments and any extra credit work had been completed and passed the bar that his Professors had set.

He'd also checked out some books in the library about Albania so he would have a little insight into what to expect for his Easter Holiday.

By then at least it should just be himself occupying his body.

Severus Snape coming with them though, that part he wasn't too keen on. He hoped that they would spend most of the holiday apart. It was a good thing over all that he had agreed to do this, but Harry still wasn't happy that his first holiday ever would include the likes of him.

As he sat in potions class he couldn't help glancing up at the man in between adding each new ingredient to his assigned potion for the day. Every third time he would meet the man's eyes and they would awkwardly look away. Awkward on Harry's part anyhow. Snape would simply narrow his eyes.

"That was a very complex potion," Hermione sighed contently after they left the dungeon and made their way to the Great Hall.

"It was," Ginny agreed, sounding equally as worn out yet pleased. "The more complex they are the more satisfied I feel after having got it right."

"I know!" Hermione exclaimed. "I was just reading in –"

Harry tuned her out then. She managed to carry on the conversation all by herself the entire way back to the Great Hall and sat on the other side of the table from he and Ginny. Harry gave her an appreciative glance. She'd maintained their seating arrangements and he was grateful. He could see their lack of contact was wearing on her too and he so longed to just reach over and play with the hair that fell over her shoulder.

Riddle didn't deserve to touch her hair though. Really, Harry should subject himself to the most mundane activities he could think of in order to torture that piece of Riddle inside him. Maybe watching paint dry, or he could volunteer to help Filch clean. Or he could prank some of the Purebloods in Slytherin. Maybe deface something that Riddle had been prideful about? Spray paint the Chamber of Secrets with something along the lines of Muggleborn Pride slogans?

That had him fighting to suppress a chuckle.

"Harry," Ginny nudged him. He had an owl flying towards him. It was a school owl.

"Oh, thank God," he sagged in relief at the sight.

"Were you expecting an owl from someone?" Hermione asked as the bird settled down in front of him and he removed the envelope.

"I was," he told her eagerly and ripped open the paper, pulling the note out. His eyes skimmed over it and he felt even more relieved. "I'm expected at the Headmaster's office after practice," he told Ginny more than Hermione.

"Can I-" Hermione started and then leaned back with a small shake of her head. "You'll tell me? Soon?"

"Soon," he grinned and tucked the note away in his bag before casting his eyes up at the Head Table. Dumbledore wasn't there, but Remus was. Harry grinned at him and he tilted his head in acknowledgment.

()()()

Quidditch practice had gone well, and he'd called it a day well earlier than he usually did. He told his team it was because with the Easter Holiday coming up the lot of them deserved a little break and warned that practice wouldn't be so easy once they got back.

After a quick shower and change he handed his kit off to Ron to carry back to their dorm and he went straight to the Headmaster's office. He was vibrating with excitement as he approached the gargoyle and said the password to enter. By the time he was standing in front of the actual door to the office he felt like the journey there from the change rooms had passed in the blink of an eye.

He blew out his cheeks and shook his hands out before reaching for the doorknob and twisting it slowly.

"Hello?" He called out, the office was empty. He went towards the picture of Jessiah Ehnes and listened hard to see if he could hear anyone inside there.

He heard nothing though, so he knocked at the frame, not knowing the password or wand movement that made the passage into the room behind it appear.

The portrait swung open slowly and Remus came out. "Oh good. You're here early."

"Finished practice ahead of schedule," he shrugged awkwardly.

"I get it," Remus assured him. "I'd be rather eager as well." He stepped into the office. "We're still waiting on Sirius though. He should be here any minute. Any concerns you want to get off your chest?"

"No," he shook his head. "Don't know what to expect really. I've thought over the worst scenarios and the best. Over and over again," his eyes went wide as he stared off at nothing and replayed his nightmares from the past week and a half.

"From observing the last three intentionally made Horcruxes being transferred, I can't help but wonder if this one will be easier," Remus mused. "There were some security precautions on the other ones, the only thing protecting the one in you is, well, you," he gestured at Harry. "And you certainly aren't keen on protecting it."

"No, certainly not." Harry agreed. "But," he shook his head. There really wasn't much sense in wondering if part of his overall sense of being would change. He was going to go through with this regardless.

They sat in companionable silence while they waited for the other two to appear.

"How is the… thing?" Harry finally asked, gesturing at the portrait of Jessiah.

"It is as it has been," he said flippantly. "Paces back and forth and glares. The elves have been taking rather good care of it. It doesn't stink as much any more anyhow. I think they put some sort of preserving charm on it."

"But it isn't pickling?" Harry couldn't help joking.

Remus chuckled, "No, not yet."

"The eyes are really what got me when I saw it," Harry admitted.

"Yes," he nodded. "They are disarmingly aware, aren't they."

The door behind them opened and Sirius let himself in. "Hey," he breathed out. "The two of you will never guess this." He was grinning as he came over and pulled a chair up by them. "I'm pretty sure that Kreacher has a crush on Mira."

Harry's jaw dropped. "What?!" he couldn't fathom it. Kreacher was a miserable sod, how could one with his mentality develop a crush on another? "What's he doing that makes you think so?"

Sirius attempted to stifle his mirth, but his eyes were glistening with humor. "He's basically following her around every time she's over at the house, and boy, is he ever eager to hop up and do anything that she's even slightly suggested to improve the look of the house."

"Is she over that often?" Remus asked looking both confused and amused.

Sirius nodded. "She has been. She was by herself at Potter Manor for ages. I've encouraged her to feel like my place is her place. The outfit's she's made for the other two have turned out looking great by the way," he told Harry.

That wasn't saying too much in Harry's mind. The two elves had looked bloody awful in their pillowcase toga's. Mira had proper looking clothes that she'd made for herself. She could have stuck the other two in a t-shirt that said 'I'm with stupid' and it would have been a wild improvement.

"How old is Kreacher?" Harry had to wonder aloud.

Sirius gave a shrug. "He and she are probably around the same age. He's been with my family for nearly forty years, I'd say Mira has been with the Potters for just as long."

"How is Dobby taking that?" Harry wondered. The over eager elf seemed to be more suited to her from his standpoint.

"Dobby is just fine with it," Sirius waved off concern. "He's only a young thing by comparison, probably looks to Mira like a mother figure if anything. She does dote on him."

"How old is Dobby?" Harry really couldn't tell with them. He knew that Mira and Kreacher were older only because they'd been with generations of their families, but Dobby looked exactly the same as them.

"About fifteen?" Sirius guessed.

Dumbledore came in at that moment from his hidden room behind the desk. "Thank you for waiting. And Harry, thank you for cutting your practice short."

He looked much better than he had, even compared to that morning at breakfast. There was a chance that he'd taken a restorative potion preemptively. It would have been a good idea to have done so.

Harry felt his nervousness return and could do nothing more than nod in acknowledgment and wait for further instruction.

"Shall we?" Dumbledore indicated to the portrait of Jessiah. He must have sympathized and been eager to get this done as well.

Harry rose and followed behind Remus and Sirius. Remus opened the room and Harry was happy to notice that it did not stink as bad in there as it had last time. The Inferi had been sitting on the floor of its cage and locked eyes with Harry as it tried awkwardly to get to its feet. The bone at its ankle was still jutting out, but it looked like its clothes had been cleaned up a bit. The eyes though, its pupils had gone red. The same red that he'd seen in Riddles eyes in the memories.

"It won't get any of Riddle's power by having the souls transferred, will it?" Harry couldn't help but wonder aloud.

"It may," Dumbledore told him. "But with out a wand and in the body of a being incapable of creating its own magic, on top of being in a warded cell, it would be unable to so much as levitate a feather as it is. It takes eleven years for witches and wizards to be able to control the magic coursing through them, this being," he indicated to the creature, "would need time it does not have before it can do any harm."

"I suppose we could always outrun him if he does get out as well," Sirius joked.

Remus let out an unamused scoff and Harry saw him smack Sirius' arm with the back of his hand. Harry found that funny though, and it calmed him down slightly.

"Uh, do you want me where the Locket had been?" Harry asked his Headmaster.

"Yes," he nodded.

Harry clenched and unclenched his fists as he reluctantly turned his back to the Inferi and faced the three of them. He wanted to be able to watch as it happened, see the wand movements that Dumbledore was making again, but the overwhelming urge to just close his eyes and let it happen won out.

It might have been the coward's way out, but also, if he tried to focus on expelling the soul that didn't belong inside him, maybe it would help. Sort of like willingly sacrificing himself.

Maybe he should have asked for a chair? He wondered. Before he could make that suggestion he felt something happen. It was an odd sensation, like being in a bubble, one that was encroaching into his personal space. This wasn't how it had felt last time. Last time when Dumbledore had checked it was like he'd just been reading his aura or something. There was just a shimmering, he hadn't really felt anything happening then.

Harry felt useless at that moment to move or say anything.

Then his eyes snapped open and he saw the whole room in a shade of dark red. He looked at Dumbledore and felt a fury bubbling up his chest.

Dumbledore, he glowered. He was the reason that his life had been shit. If he hadn't have heard that prophesy or done more to protect his parents, then they might still be there. He was the reason that Sirius had to rot in prison for so long. Dumbledore was the reason that Harry had suffered so much as a child, taken the abuse of his relatives and never known what it was like to be loved by a mother or father. Everything bad that had happened to Harry was his fault. Dumbledore was weak. He couldn't make up for the mistakes of his past by removing Riddle now.

But.

But, he was removing Riddle now.

He was working himself to death in order to stop Riddle from ever releasing his reign of terror on the world again. He was a decent man. Any mistakes that he made, he'd been trying to rectify them, Harry reasoned. People couldn't just assume that because he'd accomplished things that they hadn't, that he would have all the answers.

As he reasoned with his anger Harry's vision altered again. The red began to creep away.

Dumbledore had worked to exonerate Sirius' name. He'd believed Remus when he acted on his hunch after hearing Ginny talk about their family pets. It was because of Dumbledore using his influence that Sirius was a free man now. As much as Harry wanted to have parents around that loved him, it wasn't Dumbledore's fault that they weren't. He'd tried to stop it all from happening, he'd simply been too late, and did what he thought was right for Harry.

Harry blinked at his Headmaster a few times and the red in his vision cleared entirely. He felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. He felt relief and peace. As though there had been an elastic band around his forehead, one that had been there for so long he'd simply gotten used to it, now it was gone. He felt light.

"Whoa," Harry heard himself say aloud as he swayed slightly.

Sirius rushed forwards to him as Remus rushed to catch Dumbledore before he too fell.

"Harry?" Sirius said his name in a panic. "Harry, are you okay? Can you hear me?"

"Hmm," Harry hummed in reply. "I feel great," he mumbled before his eyes rolled back in his head.

()()()

**AN- Did you catch the mention of 'social distancing'? (Those of you reading this months/years after it was posted, it was done so during the COVID-19 Quarantine of 2020). Had to go back through and correct my spelling on 'Inferi'. I had been calling them Inferni, whoops. Thanks Stephanie O for catching that one.**


	30. The Next Adventure

**AN- Shout out to Stephanie O, I completely thought it was Inferni, not Inferi, went back and changed the spelling**

**()()()**

**Chapter 30-The Next Adventure**

**()()()**

**Owning His Dark Side by George H.M. Rannier**

Creating an alternate identity for one's self takes some time. It requires you to slip away from the world that knows you. There might not have been any one person that knew him intimately, but he'd carefully cultivated enough relationships with people of a certain standing that he didn't need them linking his new identity with his old. You see, only a select few _would_ have been able to link his old self with his new. There was a hierarchy in his followers, only the top tier would have known what his name was before.

His pathetic Muggle name.

He was not a mere Muggle. He looked down on Muggles, they were simply the dirt beneath him that he would squash out. They hadn't wanted him, so he didn't want them!

No, he would never be known by his Muggle name ever again. Now he had a new name, one that people were beginning to fear saying aloud.

That was what he wanted.

He'd given his followers purpose, a leader to look up to and inform them of the ways that they would bring about the change in their world that would make it how they wanted. Make it better. Rid their world of those that dared to _steal_ magic. (Which, may I point out, cannot be done. It is just another one of those lies that prejudice spreads around.)

He did believe that was what they were doing; making the world a better place for witches and wizards by slaying down Muggles and Muggleborns alike. Even after seeing what generations of Pureblooded breeding had brought about, like in his closest living relative; his uncle. His uncle who was too mentally impaired to have attended Hogwarts, the one who's handicap had stemmed from generations of inbreeding to 'keep the bloodlines close'. His uncle was the only blood relative he had left and was locked away in a prison cell for the crime of killing a whole family of Muggle's down the way from where he'd lived; The whole family of Muggles that was where this dictator received the other half of his parentage.

It hadn't been the uncle though, you readers knew that, didn't you?

That had been his first murder; patricide.

The first of many murders this dictator would make and frame on others. First his uncle, then a House Elf. There had been others along the way to where he was now. He had to make sure that his followers feared him as well, how better to do that then to follow through on a few threats here and there. Murdering a child, a lover, a random Muggle or Muggleborn.

He had hidden away from the world at large and taken his time researching the Darkest of Arts, practicing and altering himself physically to become fearful to even look at. He didn't care that he'd had an almost angelic looking face before, he didn't want to be adored, he simply wanted power. Craved it.

It took nearly ten years for him to do it, to become feared by our world at large, but finally he had emerged from his endeavor successfully changing himself from Tom Marvolo Riddle to become Lord Voldemort.

He couldn't possibly let anyone know that this most feared person of their time was himself a Muggleborn. How many of his loyal followers would have continued to revere him if they knew? Surely they would have immediately tried to kill him for his lies, seeing it for what it had really been; self loathing. How many of the followers would have appreciated it once they realized they had simply been no better than sheep?

A poor orphaned Muggleborn child, deprived of love and hell bent on world domination. It sounds like the makings of a wonderful comic book villain.

Pathetic, isn't it?

Pathetically true.

You readers must be having a hard time believing this; it does read fantastically.

But that was the point.

Tom Marvolo Riddle was born in at Wool's Orphanage in Central London on New Years Eve 1926 to Merope Gaunt, a witch who had been in love with her local Muggle Lord. She had brewed him a love potion and tricked him into marrying her, believing that he would really be in love with her after she became pregnant. She stopped giving him the love potion when she was with child, her rose colored glasses making her think this would all have a fairy tale ending. Instead she was cast out by her husband and cast aside by her family.

Tom Riddle was raised in the Orphanage, a miserable little boy with no friends, he realized he could do little tricks to those around him and make them hurt. Torture them a little bit until they left him alone or gave him what he wanted.

Upon learning he was a wizard he changed his tune and crafted his skills of manipulation. He was cleverly charming and attractive. He conned all the well to do Pureblood families and played politics until they were eating out of his hand.

Tom Riddle was a dangerous little nobody.

You're still having trouble believing it, aren't you?

Thought so. How many of you fell under his spell? How many of you cowered in fear while this tyrant used his pawns to reign terror down upon our world less that two decades ago? How many of you to this day are too afraid to say the name Voldemort outloud?

Here is your proof;

T-O-M-M-A-R-V-O-L-O-R-I-D-D-L-E

Let's rearrange that alphabetically, shall we?

A-D-D-E-I-L-L-M-M-O-O-O-R-R-T-V

And shuffle them up, once more for fun;

I A-M L-O-R-D V-O-L-D-E-M-O-R-T

Childish, isn't it?

In the pictures below you will see the announcement in the Muggle papers of Tom Riddle Senior's divorce, the Birth Certificate for Tom Marvolo Riddle, and reports on him from Wool's Orphanage. All these articles were taken directly from the Muggle Government Child Services.

Following that, for those skeptical of Muggle Documentation, we have the young wizards exemplary Hogwarts school records; Tutor, Prefect, Head Boy. His employment records, Daily Prophet clippings on the imprisonment of Morfin Gaunt and the case of Hokey the House-Elf being charged with killing her mistress right after one Tom Riddle had visited.

One could look into it for themselves if they would like. Perhaps try asking a former Death Eater, one that managed to claim they were under the Imperius Curse, even though the mark had to be taken willingly, the others that weren't so convincing are still rotting in Azkaban. Probably not feeling too happy about how their leader was a liar and a hypocrite.

()()()

Harry gave a bit of a stretch as he awoke. He rolled his shoulders and extended his legs as far as they would go. He tried to raise his hands to rub his face, as he normally did first thing in the morning, but they were restrained.

Blinking his eyes open, squinting as he adjusted to the amount of light shining through the windows above the bed he was in and looked down to see what was keeping his hands from moving. His brow furrowed as he cocked an eyebrow at Ginny and Sirius, each whom had a tight grasp of one of his hands and were seated beside the bed and were staring at him looking rather startled.

He was in the hospital wing.

It had been ages since he'd been stuck in the hospital wing.

"How're you feeling, Pup?" Sirius asked him.

Harry took a mental assessment of what was going on in his body at the moment. There didn't seem to be any injuries that jumped out at him. Aside from the sleepers that had built up in his eyes and the two of them were preventing him from wiping away, everything seemed fine. He felt rather good actually.

"Why am I here?" he asked. Sirius finally let his hand go free and he brought it to his eyes for a rub. Ginny removed her grasp on him then too and he shifted up in the bed.

"You don't remember?" Ginny asked.

"What is the last thing you remember?" Sirius pressed.

Harry frowned and thought back. "Oh," he remembered suddenly with wide eyes. "Oh!" He sat up straighter and pulled his legs up to cross them in front of himself excitedly. "Did it work? Is Dumbledore okay?"

"Well, how do you feel?" Sirius disregarded his other question.

"Uh, kind of great really," he smiled. "At first, I thought I was in here due to injury or something, but I feel so… light. Am I on any potions right now?" That could easily be the real reason he felt so good.

"No," Ginny shook her head. "Madame Pomfrey just did an overall diagnostic on you and claimed you were alright. Said your magic was slightly unstable when you were brought in and that was the reason that you passed out, but you just needed to sleep it off."

"Really?" he smiled widely at her. "When is it? How long have I been here?"

"Only about ten hours," Sirius told him. "We've been by your side the whole time. You barely moved all night. We took turns making sure you were still breathing," he chuckled unconvincingly, his eyes glinting.

Harry turned to Ginny then, she looked so relieved to see him awake. "Thanks for getting her," he told his Godfather, not looking away from her eyes.

"Didn't have to," he told him. "She was sitting outside the Headmasters office waiting for you."

Ginny blushed slightly. "Yes, well. I wasn't very well going to wait any longer than I had to to find out, was I?"

"Course not," Harry grinned at her.

"And?" she asked with wide hopeful eyes.

"Think I love you even more now," he whispered to her sappily. There was nothing inside him telling him to keep his emotions to himself or hold back on how much she affected him.

"Oh, thank Merlin," she breathed out. "Then can I kiss you now?"

"You okay doing that in front of him?" he teased, tilting his head at Sirius.

"Oh please," she huffed, getting to her feet and placing her arms around his shoulders as she brought herself closer to him. "I brushed his teeth, remember?"

Harry was the one to close the last bit of distance between them. If anything, her lips were even softer than he remembered, perhaps due to having nearly two weeks without him stealing her lip chap for himself but it could also just be because he didn't have to share her with anyone anymore. Their kiss wasn't as long or as thorough as either of them would have liked, but they did have an audience.

She pulled back and sat back down in her chair, taking up his hand again and turning to Sirius. "He was telling me a bit of what happened," she frowned. "It sounded like it was a bit of a struggle for you to get it out?" she asked.

"What?" he turned to Sirius in question. Harry didn't remember a struggle, he just remembered seeing red and that crap he'd thought about Dumbledore before he'd reasoned against it.

"All that stuff you'd said." Sirius mentioned. "I wondered if Albus was going to be able to keep up with his part. It seemed to affect him more than the image of his sister had."

"What- I said all that out loud?" Harry wondered. He didn't remember verbalizing any of it.

Sirius nodded sadly. "He was rather shaken up over it. Guess he had placed some blame on himself as well for all that's happened to you. There are a lot of us that do."

Sirius' frown deepened at that thought. Harry didn't want him to feel like what he'd gone through was his fault. It was the Dursley's fault really. Not his parents being murdered of course, but the neglect and abuse he'd suffered through. That was all on them. He was still resolute in his decision to simply give them their house and cut off all other ties.

He felt even better about that decision now than he had when he made it. There wasn't a voice in the back of his head telling him to take more revenge like there had been before that he'd fought with and worried over. His mind felt so much quieter than it ever had. It was peaceful. He hadn't even realized that there was something making him second guess things like he had been doing. He'd thought it was completely normal for everyone to have that devil on their shoulder making them think their ideas are stupid. There were references to such like that in all kinds of shows and books.

"Is he alright then?" Harry asked of his Headmaster.

"Yes," Sirius nodded. "Same as it was the last few time's he'd done it. And the…" he took a look around the room. "The_ thing_ is fine too. Same as it was before, just," he indicated to his eyes. "A little more red."

Harry hummed in response. They didn't seem to know what the red eyes of the Inferi would mean, but he'd believed Dumbledore's assessment of the being's ability to perform magic and potentially get out of its cage.

"So then, how soon until I can get out of here?" Harry asked them both. He felt completely fine and was ready to get back to his life as it was before he'd found out about the Horcrux in him. Spending quality time with Ginny in particular.

"I was going to see if you could be excused from your next day and a half of your classes." Sirius mentioned. "Get a jump on the holiday?" he raised his eyebrows in question.

"That'd be great!" Harry beamed. "I've already caught up on the work I'd been assigned. I'm sure Hermione would be alright passing along any notes I'd need."

"Uh, so would I," Ginny gave an incredulous wave. "I take the same classes as you, you know?"

"I know," he kissed the back of her hand. "It's just… she has nicer handwriting."

Ginny scoffed in mock offense, "you prat!" she laughed. It seemed she couldn't manage to get too mad at him right then. She too was relieved that nothing untoward seemed to have happened to his person having the Horcrux removed.

"Alright then," Sirius beamed. "I'll call over Madame Pomfrey to check you over and see if you can leave. I'll run it passed Minnie as well," he patted Harry on the shoulder and made to leave, but was halted by Harry's arm grasping his wrist.

"I don't get a hug?" he asked teasingly.

Sirius' shoulders sagged in relief and he came forward to embrace him. This wasn't a move Harry would have made two days ago. He was feeling more elated by this freedom his body was experiencing. It felt really good to be hugged by people that cared so much for him.

"Professor Lupin would have been here too if he didn't still have his classes to teach." Ginny told him after Sirius had gone to talk to the nurse. "He was here most of the night too."

"Did you lot get any sleep at least?" Harry asked. The both of them had looked quite drawn. She had rather pronounced bags under her eyes.

She gave a non-committal shrug of her shoulder. "I took a kip on that bed," she indicated to the one behind her. "Then Sirius took a turn as well."

"Come here," he told her gently and pulled back the blanket that was covering his legs, giving her space to move in.

"Harry," she blushed, "Madame Pomfrey will be here in less than a minute."

"Please?" he pouted in request. "I've been through an ordeal. I think I need some nursing from one person in particular." She rolled her eyes and got up to slide onto the bed beside him. He wrapped his arms around her. "I missed you," he whispered and nuzzled his nose against her cheek.

"I missed you too." Her hand rubbed up and down his arm as she leaned more against him. "Let's not have that happen again, yeah?"

"Promise," he replied before moving in to kiss her again. Properly this time. Merlin, how he'd missed having her in his arms. She responded immediately and he had just enough wits about him to not pull her against him so she'd straddle him. He wanted her to though. He wanted her pressed as much against him as possible until he didn't know where he ended and she began, but as it was he was getting too worked up.

Ginny sighed against him and the feel of her breath mixing with his as their mouths danced together seemed all the medicine he was going to get just then.

A throat cleared impatiently, sounding out from the end of his hospital bed and they managed to pull their lips apart under the scrutiny of the school nurse. "Your coloring seems fine," Madame Pomfrey commented disapprovingly as he was flush from his activity.

Ginny slipped off the bed and back into the chair she'd been occupying while Sirius, who'd come back with the nurse, tried to hide his grin. Ginny pointedly ignored Sirius while the nurse cast all kinds of diagnostic spells around Harry.

"Right then," the nurse stated in a strict voice. "Whatever it was that seemed to have plagued you last night, you're fit as a fiddle now. Your magic was off when I checked it last night. Seemed to be all over the place for some reason, but its settled now. Whatever you got hit with, your magic was working overtime to expel it. Just needed the time to return to normal. I will suggest having someone around you at all times though for the next two weeks, just in case something happens again. Can you do that?" she asked sternly.

"Was the plan anyhow," Harry nodded.

"Okay then. Mister Black mentioned he'd be talking to your Head of House to get you excused early for the holiday," she looked over at Ginny. "Will you be able to help him get packed up?"

"Absolutely," she nodded vigorously.

"Right then, off you go. If you feel dizzy then sit down immediately, lest you have a fall." With that, she left him to get changed and sorted for his early holiday.

"I'll go see about talking to Minerva then," Sirius stated. "How about I meet you at Remus' suite in an hour?" he looked down at his watch.

"Sounds good," Harry nodded.

Ginny held his hand all the way back to Gryffindor Tower. She seemed as reluctant to let go of it as he was. In his opinion they had to make up for the last two weeks, and the next two weeks, in this next hour and it would be bad enough to have to pack up his clothes without her hand in his.

His dorm was empty when they got there, everyone would have been in class. Ginny shut the door behind them and pulled out her wand to lock it.

Harry regarded her with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "What is that about Miss Weasley?"

"That, Mister Potter, is about how I want you. Right now. And we really don't need anyone coming in and seeing us in a precarious position," she grinned and pressed her fingers gently on his chest, giving him a little push so that he'd walk backwards towards his dorm bed.

"What position would that be?" he asked, feeling playful, a shifting in his trousers causing his hand to go to his belt already.

"Well," she started. "First off, you're going to strip down for me and lay down before I climb on top of you and take care of this itch I've had for quite a while," she purred. "Then, after a quick spell that pack's up all of your things, I think you'll be needing a shower." Her eyes were sparkling with anticipation. "And I do believe the nurse said that you needed someone with you at _all_ times. So, I'd better help you out with that as well."

"Are you saying you want to play doctor?" he grinned, pulling his shirt over his head.

"Oh, fuck yes." She pulled off her clothes as well and pushed him the rest of the way onto his bed before climbing on with him and attacking his mouth.

Their hands wandered with desperation. It hadn't been that long in the grand scheme of things that they'd denied themselves this pleasure, but the anticipation had certainly revved up the desire. As Ginny's hands grasped at ever part of him she could reach Harry writhed beneath her, his erection was straining to be buried inside her already and they'd only just started.

She took him in hand, clearly not overly anxious for foreplay, and directed him towards her entrance. She gave a twirl of her hips as she lowered herself onto him. His eyes rolled back at the warm sensation that flowed through him. He thrust upwards to bury himself inside her. He gave a groan and grabbed at her hips.

She rocked him back and forth inside her while her face buried itself in the crook of his neck, her pleasured breaths encouraging him to grind himself inside her more. As she rocked his hands wound around her back to hug her closer. He needed her lips on his though. Pulling her hair slightly he made her tilt her head up so he could kiss her. It wasn't enough though. She wasn't as wrapped around him as she could be while he was inside her.

Carefully as he could manage, he rolled them over. "Wrap your legs around me," he ordered.

This was what he wanted. Her beneath him, her hands clutching at his back, her feet locked on the inside of his knees. Her breasts pressed hard against his chest as he thrust inside her, being sure to grind against her clit with his pelvis.

"Missed you," he groaned.

She could only whimper in response. "So. Good," her lips found his again. They merely held their lips against each-others while they moved. His finish was closely approaching, and he could tell by the contractions of her inner muscles around his cock that she wasn't far either.

"Get there," he growled in want. "Come for me, you know you want to."

Her breathing became shallow as she ground harder against him. Her nails dug into his shoulders as he panted out words of encouragement that he wasn't fully aware were coming out of his mouth. Until he felt her clamp around him properly and he gave into his urges to thrust into her properly until his own climax overtook him.

"Yes!" he groaned loudly into her shoulder. His thrusts turned more to jabs as he milked the last of his orgasm out of him, breathing hard against her skin as his heartbeat started to slow down.

They lay there naked together as they recovered, and he was so appreciative for her being there for him. She was amazing and beautiful and strong and stubborn and she'd have been completely justified in hexing him for trying to pause their relationship as he had done. In a daze his post coital brain guided him to the conversation he'd overheard between she and Ron over Christmas break about how she'd be trying to figure out how to make his death look like an accident if he tried to break it off with her, and he started shaking softly with laughter.

"What's that about?" Ginny asked, trailing a hand up and down his spine.

He raised himself up on his elbow and looked down at her. "Just," he smiled and shook his head. "I love you."

Ginny grinned back in response. "I love you too," she gave him a kiss. "And we need to get you packed."

"Urgh," he groaned. "What was I thinking saying I should leave two days early? If I stayed," he started as she slipped out from under him, "then we could have just slipped away to the room of requirement for the next two days and made up for lost time."

"Mmm, tempting," she kissed his forehead before standing up and giving him a lovely view of her in all her glory. "However, you have plans that involve going to a foreign country and hunting down a wraith and being an adventurer or whatever." She picked up his shirt and pulled it over her head. "And I get to pack your bag." Ginny found her wand and summoned his travel case from his trunk.

"You don't have to do that," he frowned at her. He could pack his own bag.

"I don't mind," she shrugged her shoulder. "I want you to sit there and tell me what happened yesterday. In your own words. Naked." She waggled her eyebrows at him and looked down to his, now not quite so impressive, penis.

Harry narrowed his eyes at her slightly with a smirk and pulled his sheets over his lower half to begin regaling her with how it had been for him to go through that experience. He still wasn't sure just how long the entire ordeal had lasted. He was surprised that it had knocked him out for ten hours though. He certainly felt well rested and relaxed now.

The relaxing bit might just have to do with what he'd just done with Ginny though. He'd been way more verbal than he'd ever been before, but other than that everything had been as fantastic as it had always been, he'd just craved more intimacy from the experience than that first position would allow.

She listened attentively while she pulled a few days' worth of his clothes from his trunk and placed them in his smaller trunk. It was really sweet that she wanted to pack for him. It was odd, because no one had ever done that for him before, but sweet. He described how he'd seen the room in red and hadn't been aware he'd been saying things about Dumbledore aloud, then his vision had cleared and then he'd felt great. Then passed out.

"Do you think they're planning on taking the Inferi with you all to Albania?" she wondered.

"I don't think so," he said, confused as to whether that was even a possibility. Would one be able to take a portkey? He was pretty damn sure that it wouldn't be able to board a Muggle plane. "Pretty sure it is staying here under lock and key. The only crotchety eye sore I want coming along is Snape. And I don't really want him coming along."

Ginny snickered and put his packed bag at the end of his bed. "There, just your toiletries needed now," she told him. "And I believe you'll need to use them once more before you can put them in the bag."

As she turned towards the bathroom she pulled his shirt over her head and tossed it back in his direction casually. "You coming to help me?" she winked over her shoulder.

He really had the best girlfriend in the world.

()()()

Sirius stood beside Harry just the other side of the white picket fence. The small spot of lawn had all gone wild, there were even sprigs of weeds poking up between the spaces in the cobbled walkway leading to the front door. There hadn't been anyone maintaining the property here like there had been at Potter Manor. Mira said she wasn't allowed to go there until directed otherwise by Harry. Sirius gave a sigh, he should have asked Harry to send her permission before they came, but he really hadn't thought about it.

There was a statue at the corner of the property of James, Lily and a baby Harry between them. Sirius couldn't even look at it.

They wouldn't have wanted that. Harry didn't want it either, though he'd looked up at the image of his parents and he for a few moments, then taken one look at the inscription and averted his eyes. He moved to the other side of Sirius to take in the sight of the cottage before them. It looked the same as it had the last time he'd visited before the attack, save for the hole in the wall where Harry's nursery had been.

He imagined it would probably look the _exact_ same as it had if he was viewing it from the back garden.

Swinging the gate open he started slowly walking up the way to the door. The last people through this door would have been the Auror team that took away…

Sirius' hand froze above the doorknob as he stowed that thought away in the back of his mind. This was going to be emotionally wracking for Harry. He had to be strong for him.

His hand touched the doorknob and it swung open, he'd been one of only a few that were keyed to the door. It was as chilly inside the house as it had been out. Stepping inside he looked to his left, towards the sitting room and saw that a few of Harry's toys were still scattered along the floor by the bay window. James' pipe was on its side on the coffee table. All the furniture looked a little outdated now, the fabric seemed stiff.

He continued forward, not daring to look at the wall to his right that held several pictures of James and Lily with friends and family over the years. He could see that the photos were waving and smiling out of his peripherals and didn't think he'd manage to keep it together if he saw that head on right now. Instead he kept moving past the hallway and into the kitchen.

There were still dishes in the sink from the dinner they'd had that night. Harry's highchair table piece was on its side in one of the sinks. Automatically, he moved to the fridge and reached for the cupboard above it. James kept the hooch there. Grabbing a dusty bottle of Glenfiddich he went to the glass cupboard and pulled out two tumblers.

"Pup, I don't know if you think I feed you too much liquor, but I need this, and I think you will too," he stated as he poured. He didn't hear a response, so he turned to see what Harry was looking at and saw he was enraptured by the photos on the wall at the entrance.

Sirius braced himself. It wasn't even just what was behind the frames, he'd helped James hang up those photos. They'd had a bitch of a time getting them levelled and in an order that Lily approved of. It had taken all day, which he could attribute to several beers, and several cuss words. He'd never realized just how much work it would have taken until they'd attempted it. It didn't help that the frames were all different sizes.

Taking a swig to ready himself, he took a glass in each hand he went back to stand beside Harry and gave him one of the Scotches. He pointed to the one of the four Marauders on the end. "That was our sixth year," he told him. "We'd just finished up our exams and I was looking forward to spending the summer with James at Potter Manor."

Harry nodded and his eyes drifted over to one of just his parents.

"That was the first 'couple' photo they had," Sirius told him. "She'd finally caved to his advances at the beginning of seventh and then they were ridiculously happy together for the rest of," he cleared his throat and couldn't finish that sentence. "It was after their first date. James was adamant that they have a photo to commemorate it," he chuckled at the memory, "he said she'd be grateful to have it to go beside their wedding photo so she was to just shut up and enjoy it."

"Really?" Harry grinned wistfully.

"Yeah," Sirius sighed. "And that," he gestured to the one right beside it, "is their wedding photo." He looked at his younger self beside his eighteen-year-old friends. At the time he'd thought they were mad to be getting married so young. They could have simply lived together, no one would have thought less of them for taking their time. James was determined though, he'd known she was it for him and Sirius supposed he'd wanted to put a baby in her sooner rather than later. The baby bit was probably the main reason for rushing it all. It had been a year after the wedding that they announced she was pregnant.

He'd both been crazy happy for them, and thought they were simply crazy. But, they weren't letting the war dictate their lives and he respected them for that.

He was glad to see that Peter had walked out of the photo from their wedding day. There had only been about twenty people there to witness it.

"She has a picture of her and Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked incredulously, looking at the smallest photo of the bunch. Lily had wanted that one up there, she hadn't given up on her sister coming back into her life at some point. "You know, I'd never seen a picture of my mum until my first Christmas at Hogwarts? My dad neither."

Sirius let out a slow breath. He couldn't help feeling like they'd all failed Harry, he probably wouldn't ever get over it properly. "I'm so sorry about that," he told him sincerely. "I wish I could go back and stop myself from being so damned adamant about making Peter the Secret Keeper."

"I don't blame you," Harry turned to face him, his face completely open. "You were doing what you thought was best. It was Peter that wasn't strong enough to fight off Riddle and his crooneys. And it was several other people who let him raise to power. There were a million other factors that allowed it all to happen. I don't blame you, and I don't blame Dumbledore," he promised.

That was a weight off his chest to hear it, but it wouldn't remove all of the guilt that he'd reflected on over the many years since it had happened. "Come on," he guided him towards the kitchen. "Let's show you the rest of the house." He'd had as much as he could take from these photos.

As they went through the different rooms Sirius pointed out little spots of interest and told a few stories about different things that had happened in the rooms in the near year and a half that Harry and his parents had lived there. They made it through the kitchen, dining room, sitting room, office, then up the stairs and into James and Lily's room.

Every last piece of clothing and knick knacks had been left where they were on Halloween of 1981. After he and Harry had been let into the cottage so easily he was amazed that no one had been in to ransack the place since. Lily's jewelry was still out on the dresser.

"There must be some kind of wards still in place," he commented to Harry. "This ring is a Potter family heir loom." He held up an emerald and diamond white gold right for Harry to see. "It was an engagement ring for Euphemia, but Lily had worn it to a function or two. She wasn't much for jewelry during her day to day, but James always noticed when she put on the Potter pieces."

Harry took the ring out of his finger and looked down at it with a small smile. "It's really pretty," he commented. "Rather simple, but elegant. Looks like it is for working hands."

"Sturdy enough for a Quidditch player," Sirius smirked.

Harry's eyes shot up to his and his cheeks colored. "Yeah," he admitted.

"Why don't you just keep that idea locked away in your mind for a few years down the road?" he suggested. Harry was far too young to be thinking of marriage. Molly and Arthur would probably be out for Sirius' head if they learned Harry was already thinking of that, no matter how much they seemed to like the boy already.

He heaved a great sigh, "are you ready for this next bit?" The only room left in the house was the nursery.

"Just," Harry raised his hand and took a great swallow of the last of his Scotch before having a coughing fit. "Gah, why do you like this stuff?"

Sirius grinned at him. "It's an acquired taste," he admitted. "You'd probably just prefer something sweet at your age."

"Yeah, let's keep that in mind for our holiday." Harry choked.

They both set their glasses down on the dresser and went across the hall. Harry was the one to open the door, it did have his name on it after all.

The door swung inward and the two of them stood side by side, taking it all in. The hole in the exterior wall was large enough that Hagrid could have easily fit through it. Harry's crib was singed on the side facing them and there was quite a bit of stuffed animal batting around the floor.

"Hey!" Harry strode in and reached down into the corner of the room. "I remember this!" he came up holding a toy broom. "I had dreams about flying on a toy broom like this. I had thought that it was just a dream, but here it is!"

"I got that for you for your first birthday!" Sirius told him proudly. "Your mum was pissed, but your dad was eager to get you on it. Only flies far enough off the ground that your pudgy little feet wouldn't have been able to touch, I don't know what she was so worried about."

"I remember riding on you too," Harry said quietly as he examined the broom, unable to meet his eye. "When you were Padfoot."

Sirius almost lost his composure as he recalled those days. He loved it when little Harry would reach his pudgy arms up and demand for 'Pafoo'. "Used to take you for a ride around the coffee table. You tugged on my hair something fierce, but you loved it, so I kept doing it," he choked out.

Harry nodded with a sad smile and looked around at the other toys in the room that hadn't been destroyed. Sirius spied the stuffed rat that had fallen under the crib and quickly cast a spell to incinerate it. Harry looked back at him in question, not having noticed it before it was a ball of flames.

"Don't worry about it," he shrugged off his concern. He found himself dealing with this a lot better than he thought he would.

"Where are they?" Harry asked, he was looking at a picture of he and his parents that was sitting on a shelf in the closet.

"Down in the cemetery in town." He hoped Harry wouldn't want to go there right then. It was too much on top of this visit.

Harry nodded as he traced the outline of James' smiling face with a sad smile. He gave a muffled sniffle and took a step back before looking at Sirius with shining eyes. "Another time?" Harry asked.

Sirius let out a slow breath of relief, "Another time."

()()()

Albus Dumbledore stared at the creature as it continued pacing back and forth in its minimal space, like a feral dog. There was an overall sense of awareness that it was giving him through the look in its eye. It seemed to be rather more healthy than one would expect from an Inferi. The House-Elf's had been taking good care of it, but that didn't explain the coloring of its flesh taking on a more natural human hue.

There had been many reasons that he wanted to use an Inferi instead of some other object. He could have just transferred the souls into one of the objects that Tom had used already, but Albus was a scholar and there was so much to be learned from the effects of a Horcrux on a human body; and he couldn't very well do this sort of study on an _actual_ human. That would be too reprehensible.

Using a recently dead body wouldn't have given him the results he was looking for either, there was a large possibility that the soul fragments would have been locked into the corpse.

No, he needed something else.

Victor Frankenstein had messed around with reanimation, and look where that got him.

There was so little in the way of studies related to Horcruxes. This was most probably the only chance he, possibly anyone, would have to see of the effects of multiple Horcruxes, from the same soul, and the impact they would have on a body. Seeing the Inferi's progress after having just one Horcrux in it was incredible enough, after each additional one was transferred it gained more recognition and outward signs of it being 'alive'.

In his research for transferring Horcruxes he had learned a lot about souls, including the spell he had used to see if Harry had a piece of Tom Riddle inside him as well. It was a spell that measured a person's soul. Harry had an extra amount of soul on top of his. A minuscule amount of extra soul, but just enough that Albus could see it.

He'd been measuring the amount of soul that was residing in the Inferi after each transfer. Each measurement would tell him how many of the Horcruxes were made and the order in which they were made as well.

Every time Tom Riddle had split his soul, he wasn't simply tearing off a small piece of himself, he was ripping his soul in half. Every additional Horcrux was diminishing his soul to less and less, until what he was left with was only just under one percent of his original soul residing in himself. It was why he was so susceptible to the Dark Arts and why he had no conscience telling him right from wrong. That first Horcrux had altered his sense of judgement irrevocably, the additional one's he'd created after had made him all the more unstable a human.

Unfortunately it did not inhibit his ability to do magic. If only that had been the case.

After transferring the Hufflepuff Cup the Inferi had one quarter of a soul, the Gaunt Ring had added to it only slightly, and the Slytherin Locket added near one sixteenth of a soul. The transferred Horcrux from Harry had barely added to the Inferi's soul at all.

The creature now held just over thirty five percent of a regular person's amount of soul. This meant that the previous two Horcruxes he had been forced to destroy by Fiendfyre, the Diary and the Diadem, had been the second and third Horcruxes created.

This also meant that they had all the pieces of his soul from before he was forced into his wraith form.

Once Severus was successful in returning his old master into a human form the Inferi could be destroyed. Until then, Albus was going to get perverse enjoyment from torturing the thing.

He stood from his chair and waved his wand at the gramophone in the corner, starting the record of Ethel Andrews reading out the Muggle Studies text book from the 1950's. It had been created for a blind student that had attended the school, and subsequently dropped the class due to the entirely grating sound of Ethel Andrews' voice.

The creature moaned loudly and covered its ears. Albus turned up the volume and closed the portrait to the room, the sound of the album disappearing as the portrait sealed shut.

()()()

The Palmanova Resort in Albania was rather breathtaking.

Tonks really hadn't thought that her first weekend away with Remus would actually be a week long trip away in a foreign land. And not to a resort as nice as this one. It was extra great because Sirius was footing the hotel bill. Initially she'd protested that a bit, but he'd argued that he was using the Black Family money, and she was a Black. He'd also told her he was footing the bill for her former Potions Professor as well so she could very much 'shut up about it'.

They weren't too far out of the capital city and had a large Villa on the resort to themselves with a private pool and a kitchen that was restocked every morning. The only thing she wasn't keen about, besides attempting to track down the wraith of the evilest man she'd ever heard of, was potentially seeing her former Potions Professor in a bathing suit.

She hadn't considered too much what Albania would be like, but it was beautiful. From the moment they came through the portkey she felt the warm salty sea air hugging her. The foliage around them was green and the sky was blue. It was fabulous.

Remus grinned at her as they look down at the private pool area from the balcony of their bedroom.

She'd already emptied her suitcase into the dresser and closet provided and put her toiletries in their ensuite. The two of them were the first to arrive, the others were going to be a few hours. As soon as she'd checked and rechecked the wards around the villa and the silencing spells around the room twice she'd dragged Remus to their room to christen the bed.

"This is fantastic," she beamed back at Remus. "I'm sure it won't all be like this the whole trip, but I'm glad we got a bit of time to ourselves before everyone else shows up."

Remus sighed contentedly. "I'm so glad you've taken everything so well."

She had been surprised by it all, that much was a given. She worked with a few senior Auror's that had never believed that You-Know-Who was gone for good, so they'd instilled the sense of doubt about it in her as well. "Moody was the one that trained me," she told him. "I guess all of his paranoia had prepared me for it somewhat."

"That wasn't what I meant," he told her and hugged her back tighter against his front.

"Oh," she smiled softly. He meant his being a werewolf. "I was plenty keen on you before finding out, now I just understand why it is you can tell when I'm really aching for it," she teased and wriggled her bum against him slightly.

He growled playfully in her ear. "We should get back downstairs."

She frowned regretfully. They did have quite a bit of mapping and such that they wanted to review of the country and go over their plan of combing through it effectively. From what they knew, Lady Grey had hidden her mothers Diadem in a tree in a wooded area. That meant that if he'd been in hiding around there then they would be needed to search the parts of the country further inland. Along the coast was too developed, and there were a few small wizarding settlements near the mountains that he'd want to stay away from as well.

Sirius had rented a vehicle for them to travel around in and they were going to be visiting all the little hamlets and such and trying to coax some local legends out of the patrons at the pubs and such. Once they narrowed down the area that he was most likely to be in, then it was Severus Snape's job to go through the woods and search for his presence. One of them would be following him in Harry's Invisibility Cloak the whole time.

She wasn't entirely sure what it was that Sirius had held over Snape's head in order to get him to agree to this. She'd known he was a Death Eater at one point in his life, but apparently he'd switched sides right before the end and played double agent.

They made their way down the stairs and she brought a file with her that held all of the road and topographical maps of the area along with the travel guides and such for sight seeing locations along the way. Remus went to assemble a snack platter for them and she set herself up at the table by the pool to go through everything.

"Finding anything you'd missed before?" he asked setting down a crudité platter with some charcuterie.

"Reading over the 'haunted' area's in this Muggle brochure," she held up the cover for him. "Found it at the Apparation site. It's for Muggle's, but I guess they get enough visiting Muggleborn that they carried them there.

"Is it just about ghosts and such?" he wondered. "Does it say what ghost the Muggles are actually referring to?"

She shook her head, "No. It's mostly about the brutal history of the area and where one might 'hear the echo's of the violent past'," she quoted. "This is strictly Muggle, but their rumors and such might help us narrow some spaces down."

"Historically violent area's he might be interested in," Remus offered.

"Not when they have nearly 100,000 visitors every year," she stated with a shake of her head. "I'm actually thinking it might be best to simply cross off every place on this map that this guidebook suggests visiting and see what we're left with."

"That would certainly narrow down which wooded area's we should be checking," he nodded.

"Lupin, Tonks," came the tense greeting from the patio door of the villa.

"Ah, Severus." Remus got up to greet him. "Glad you found the place alright. I'll show you which room is yours." He leaned over the table and gave her a kiss before doing his polite duty of playing host.

She was rather stuck staring at Snape. He was wearing Muggle attire. She didn't think he'd ever not worn the vested robes that he donned when he was teaching. She'd expected it was the only type of clothing he owned. Now, here he was wearing_ Muggle jeans and a light-weight button up shirt_! It had a bright color on it! She didn't mean to stare, but he looked rather normal. Almost like he hadn't come out of a coffin this morning. His hair even looked less greasy and more like he'd used hair product.

As Remus guided him out of sight she focused again, turning back to her map of Albania and to crossing off places for them to check. Tourist destinations, metropolis', places too close to a Magical community, too close to a muggle highway and anywhere that wasn't wooded. She wasn't left with much after that, there were two places in particular that she believed would be most likely.

"That was pleasant," Remus said sarcastically as he came back to sit down with her.

"Whatever do you mean? He's the nicest bloke out there," she deadpanned, still consulting her map and crossing off locations.

"I've been over the folklore about the Ravenclaw's and believe it is likely that they had a summer home near here," he pointed to a spot that she had down as a potential location.

"Right," she'd already circled it, but added extra emphasis over the area. It was a reserve near a medieval town called Gjirokaster. The reserve close to it didn't have any trails or excursions that went through it. She'd had it down for its potential because it was a reserve rather than a National Park and they didn't seem to draw any resources from it. So far as she could tell there wasn't any scientific studies that the Muggles did of the area either.

Rrezoma Reserve is what it was called.

"Here as well," she showed him the other location that she thought had promise. "It is off a recently built highway, but not very travelled. The bridge there is rumored to be the one from the Three Brother's tale." She'd liked the photos of the Goliku Bridge that she'd seen, but apparently it was illegal for the Muggle's to actually use it, claiming that it was too fragile. The magical community knew better though. It was structurally sound, so that gave her another indicator for where he might have been hiding.

"Anybody call for someone tall, dark and handsome?" Sirius asked loudly as he came out to the poolside.

"Hey!" she grinned and got up to give him a hug before moving to Harry, who looked amazed at his surroundings. "How're you doing kid?"

"Pretty fantastic actually. How're you?" Harry grinned.

He seemed less reserved than she'd observed him to be the last few times she'd seen him. Remus had filled her in on how they'd managed to get the Horcrux out of him, and how incredibly relieved they all were that there didn't seem to be any ill effects from its removal.

The night after it had happened Remus had come to her flat and basically collapsed against her. She'd had to half carry him to bed he'd been so tired. It wasn't until the following morning that she got the proper story. He'd been up nearly all of the previous night at Harry's bedside and then still had to teach all day. That it had all gone down only two days after a Full Moon, she understood his need for a proper rest.

"Quite happy to be in a beautiful country like this for the Easter Holidays," she answered honestly, "even if we do have some work to do."

"See you've already been hard at work here," Sirius gestured to the maps and books spread out over the table, then helped him self to some crackers and cheese.

"Have you got any of your own done up?" she asked. She hadn't really spoken to Sirius about anything more than getting assurance that he was okay with her coming along for this trip.

"I have, but the two of the three spots I'd been looking at you've already got marked off." He pointed to an area that was close to the border with Macedonia, by Lake Ochrida.

"I had thought about that one too, but it has a lot of tourist traffic right now, and though it is technically 'Albania', when he would have fled that area was considered North Macedonia Region, and I didn't think he'd be likely to settle there."

"It was all Albania when Lady Grey would have been alive though," Sirius reasoned.

"Fair enough," she took up her marker and circled that forested area as well. The country was small enough that they would be able to check out each of the three locations each day and still make it back for dinner.

"Did Snape make it here?" Sirius asked.

"Just showed him to his room before you got here," Remus told him.

"He's wearing Muggle clothes," she muffled her laughter. "It is _so_ weird to see him like that." Harry at least seemed to find that idea as humorous as she did. "Lets get the two of you settled and then we can go over the plans."

()()()


	31. Lost and Found

**AN- Had a lot of people thinking I didn't know the difference between a Muggleborn and a Half-Blood. Perhaps I should have included in the authors notes on that last chapter that what was written in the 'article' was for the sake of the 'article'; creating bias and changing opinions of wizardkind.**

**()()()**

**Chapter 31- Lost and Found**

**()()()**

This was it. This one had to be it.

They'd been through the Pogradec Lake Region on the first full day there at the far Eastern side of the country, and Dora had been right, it was much too populated for it to have been a hiding place for him. They'd gone all the way out there though, a nearly two hour drive, so after they'd done a survey of the wooded area around Pogradec they took in some of the touristy sights and gone for a boat ride then enjoyed the beach while they had a nice dinner then headed back to their villa for sun down.

The next place they checked out was the Kuturman- Qafa e Bushit Park and the Goliku Bridge. Dora had filled him in on the history behind the bridge on their drive there. They had actually passed it the previous day, but it had been much too late to stop and check it out by the time they were headed back.

Harry had known the story of the Three Brothers, he'd been told he owned one of the 'fabled' items after Dumbledore had figured out the Gaunt Ring held the Resurrection Stone. It was a surprise to learn that it had all supposedly taken place in Albania though. He'd assumed it was England. Yet another poor assumption on his part. Potter's, like Peverell's would have immigrated to England's Isle from somewhere, and it would make sense to have moved after one encounter's 'Death'.

According to the story there had been treacherous waters there at some point, but the river was low flow now, there must have been a dam built up stream somewhere. Harry wouldn't have needed the bridge in order to cross the ankle-deep current that there was today. The trees on the land around them were no more than shrubs either, certainly there wouldn't have been one large enough with a knot in it for Lady Grey to have hidden her mother's Diadem in. Didn't look like there had been ever before either. The land didn't even look capable of growing proper trees.

The third place that they wanted to check out was the furthest. Gjirokaster was a medieval village with a Reserve by it that was far enough away from the village in the valley of a mountain range that it would be difficult for Muggle's to get there and hold little interest for Witches and Wizards as well.

It was on the third day that they explored the village for a bit before attempting to venture towards the Reserve. It was amazing to see all of the medieval architecture mixed in with the modern touches of LED lights and café's tucked into the stonework. It really was such a beautiful country. Harry couldn't help but marvel at the fact that he hadn't even seen the top rated tourist locations in the country.

Sirius looked to be rather enjoying himself too. This time next year Harry hoped he would take the opportunity to travel and see some more sights while Harry was finishing up his last year at Hogwarts. Then he could tell Harry where the best places were before he went to experience them for himself.

Travel had not been something he'd ever thought about before. He hadn't had money for it, at least he hadn't thought he did, and his world had simply consisted of school or his bedroom at the Dursley's. Trips to Hogsmeade had been exotic for him considering how he was raised. Now he had a world of options after school. Ginny hadn't mentioned anything about wanting to travel, but her family wasn't too well off either, so maybe she just hadn't seen it as an option either.

After stopping for lunch in Gjirokaster the four of them wandered out of town a bit, Snape had opted to stay back at the Villa while they did their exploring the past few days. He had supplies that he needed to keep on top of, and he wasn't keen on following them around for their search, his part came once they'd found it, not before. Considering how sallow he was Harry was glad for that.

Harry observed the lands around the town. They didn't have much foliage on the hills, but from how Dora had explained it the actual reserve was on the other side of the mountainous ridge that faced them.

"So, just to go over what we've discussed so far," Dora called their attention. "We'll be walking in from here. No magic whatsoever will be used unless we have to Apparate out. Sirius, Harry, you two keep with in arms-length of each other at all times, understood?" she looked pointedly at Harry.

"Yeah, promise," Harry nodded. He was the only on of the bunch that couldn't Apparate.

"Right then," she continued. "We'll stick close to the valley, don't need to use up and excess energy by climbing the ridge. If anyone feels the impulse to turn back, you need to push through it. There could easily be some kind of ward or repelling charm around the area that he managed. There is literally no recent record of anyone going into the reserve in the past several years, so we don't entirely know what there is stopping people from going in."

Harry caught Sirius giving Remus a look followed by a wink, he didn't need to ask what that was about. Clearly Sirius was being a smart arse and guessing about their bedroom activities from the way Dora was taking charge. She was the Auror though, it made complete sense to him that she take the lead for this mission of sorts, no doubt she'd had plenty of training and experience dealing with unknown situations.

This had sounded like the most likely area that Riddle would have hid too. From the notes that Dumbledore had provided from Professor Quirrell's escapade before he'd been partially possessed or whatever that was, he'd visited the Magical communities in Albania. There were only three in the country total that were majority Magical. Quirrell might have wandered into the reserve and encountered him there.

It was going to be about a six-kilometre hike, so they had to get started right away.

Sirius took up the lead and Harry stayed close behind him, then Dora, and then Remus took up the tail. They all marched in relative silence through the dip in the ridges. The rubble beneath their feet was not secured since it was not a very travelled route; rocks that were shaken loose by Sirius' boots made it all the less stable of a hike for him. Hiking wasn't something he was very experienced with, but he hoped the exercise he got through Quidditch had at least prepared him enough for this.

After an hour and a half he was sweating bullets. Trying to navigate this terrain was well more exhausting that he'd thought it would be. He'd figured hiking was essentially walking, so really, how difficult would it be? But boy, did he need a break.

"Alright," Dora said just loud enough for the three of them to hear. "Let's sit and fuel up. It looks like this next rise is going to have us in the Reserve. How's everybody feeling?"

The three men did little more then cast cursory glances at each other. The three of them were covered in sweat and had the appearance of being about to pass out, meanwhile she was still seeming rather energized and able to do this. The smirk on her face at their conditions was a slap in the face.

"I think the lot of you could do with getting outside more," she teased as she passed out some sort of nutrition bar she'd picked up in town for them.

"I did think I was in shape," Sirius muttered.

"Round is a shape," Dora remarked.

"Hey!" he didn't look truly offended though, more tiredly amused.

Harry didn't have the energy to join in on that banter, he just ripped open the bar and took a bite, looking around for level enough ground to sit on. This was the only time they'd have to do this trek. Once they got into the Reserve area and knew the surroundings those of them of age, everyone but himself, would be able to Apparate there.

Remus took up on the ground beside him. "Rather figured that my werewolf stamina would allow me to keep up." He looked just as sweaty as Sirius and he though, perhaps not quite as out of breath though.

"I'll be looking forward to the pool when we get back," Harry said wistfully. They did still have the drive back though, but at least he could Side-Along Apparate back to the village instead of hiking back.

Dora only allowed them ten minutes to rest and recuperate before getting them to their feet again. From then on she made sure they were all going to be as quiet as possible too.

It was another twenty minutes before they made it to the crest of the rise that the valley that this reserve lay in. From where they were they could see the entirety of the forested area. It was only about two kilometres in diameter and stretched from North to South for about double that. They were high up enough to see it all. The trees there were indeed much larger than the foliage that they'd seen anywhere else in the country. From the look of them, even at this distance, it seemed like they'd been there for hundred's of years. The four of them exchanged looks of surprise and victory. This had to be the place.

Dora stopped them from going any further towards the tree's though. "Disillusionment?" she said quietly. "If he's in there," she trailed off.

Going in there fully visible when the wraith could be watching and waiting did seem like a stupid idea. He might not have known who they were, but Snape was supposed to be the only one to be 'seeking him out'.

"Perhaps just two of us should go down at a time," she suggested.

That left Harry out, he was underage and couldn't Apparate himself out if he was in trouble. He opened his mouth to protest, but Sirius grasped his wrist and pulled him gently toward him. "You've had enough to deal with in the past week. Let them go ahead," he whispered.

Harry knit his eyebrows together at him. Sure he'd had a Horcrux removed and done an emotional tour of his first home that had been blown up, but that was then and this was now. He'd recovered. He wanted to go down there and see if he could help.

"Don't make me Apparate you all the way back to the village," Sirius warned.

Harry stared at him, rather shocked by the tone he was using. It was so… parental. "Okay," he managed, unsure of how that tone was making him feel. He looked back over to Dora and Remus and gave a small shrug.

They didn't say anything more before the two of them turned their wands on themselves and disappeared. Harry looked back at Sirius, he too had his wand out.

"Muffliato," Sirius said quietly. "Alright," he started in his regular voice. At Harry's wince from his volume he explained, "that spell blocks out anyone from overhearing us. You can talk again with-out whispering."

"Okay," Harry said cautiously.

"Sorry I had to pull that card, but Dora is the trained Auror here, and it does make sense that we have a team of two of us go in. It also makes sense that it be she and Remus. With her training and his sense of smell and hearing they'll be better prepared if anything happens. You or I going down would just complicate things."

"You're okay sitting on the sidelines right now after everything that you've done so far?" Harry asked in doubt.

"I want the bastard gone for good, that doesn't mean that I have to be the one doing absolutely everything. You and I have already played some pretty fucking important key parts in getting rid of him. Let's let little Dora have a turn."

Harry couldn't help the reluctant smile that came to his face from his referring to Dora as 'little'. Though she was shorter than all of them she had this able bodied air about her that made her seem bigger than she was. "I like her," he said as he sat down on the rock face.

"Don't tell Ginny that."

Harry rolled his eyes at the terrible joke. "You know what I mean. Ginny likes her too. She came to the school to do a talk about the Auror Shadow Program a few months ago. I didn't get the chance to introduce them then, but I'm sure they'll meet again at some point this summer. She and Remus seem to be getting on well."

"Ginny didn't apply to the program?"

Harry shook his head. "She hasn't got any interest in being an Auror. Ron signed up for it with me, but I don't think any of the other guys in my dorm did."

"Not your mate Neville?"

"Merlin, No!" Harry laughed. "He's going to be a Herbology Master. I had to help him through every year of DADA."

"Both his parents were Auror's," Sirius stated. "Surprised he didn't inherit any of their interest in it."

"So's Neville's Gran," Harry pointed out with a frown. "Pretty sure she's the only reason he continued with the class. Nev like's Remus well enough, but his heart really isn't in it. It does bother him how his Gran expects him to be more like them."

"Eh," he shrugged. "At least he knows for sure what he'd like to do with his life."

"So, what am I expected to do for the next few days?" Harry asked, he gestured at the Reserve, "if this turns out to be the place. I mean, one of you three will be bringing Snape here and following him around until he finds the wraith, right?"

"That's right," he nodded. "You will be expected to be enjoying your holiday."

Harry raised a skeptical eyebrow at his Godfather. "That's it? You lot take turns combing through this place and I'm expected to just lay poolside?"

"That and finish your school assignments," Sirius shrugged. "You've had a crazy year, Harry, you need to just sit back and enjoy yourself a bit. If you really want to contribute then you can make sure whomever is going to be tailing Snape has a supply of sustenance in their bags."

"I do have experience with kitchen work." Harry agreed to that eagerly. "I just. I want to help more. I'm sure there is more that I can contribute."

"And we all love you for your willingness to help us out," he wrapped his arm around his shoulder. "But many hands make light work, and we've got five us here for two people jobs. You can man the home front at the Villa. Unfortunately, you're still underage and are limited in what you can do right now."

Sadly, Harry knew that much was true. He had thought that he would be able to do more though, but if his job was to be the kitchen boy and that was the best way he could contribute, then he'd just make sure he did a good job of it.

()()()

A shiver ran through Remus as he hopped over a small stream.

They'd made it into the wooded area, he could hear Dora just a few steps in front of him. She was being very light on her feet, but with his extra hearing it wasn't hard for him to track her movements. He reached out to halt her movement and trailed his hand down her arm. There was something in the air there. Something that was different on this side of the stream.

He ran two fingers down her spine, trying to copy the feeling that he was getting. She pulled his hand to cup her cheek and she made an obvious nodding movement with her head. She was feeling it too.

This was the place.

He tugged at her arms to get her back over to the other side of the stream. He wanted to make sure that the feeling they were both getting wasn't just in their heads. Hoping back over the water the eerie feeling vanished.

Dora tugged on his hand. She wanted to survey along the path that the stream followed. They walked for near a kilometre, not feeling the sensation again. She hopped over the stream again and he followed suit. This time he didn't feel the sensation in his spine. Holding hands they back tracked along the stream again. After about 300 meters it happened again, the creeping sensation up the spine.

That narrowed down the area rather nicely.

Jumping back over the stream to the safe side he followed her another kilometre along the stream, passing their starting off place. Again, the hopped over the stream and felt the sensation, so they hopped back and continued on, crossing again in another half kilometre and feeling nothing, then back tracking until they felt it.

That was all they needed to know. The reserve was long and narrow, they knew what length his area covered enough now to be able to find him rather easily. Now they just needed to get back to the Villa and discuss this plan thoroughly with Snape. There couldn't be any mistakes.

The two of them stayed disillusioned and silent until they got back up to the crest of the rise and spotted Sirius and Harry, carrying on a conversation that couldn't be heard. The two of them did not have their guard up, something that made him shake his head, but his lovely girlfriend was not as passive as he. As Remus was about to remove the spell on him, Sirius and Harry were both yanked backwards and tumbled off the boulders they'd opted to sit on with silent exclamation. Dora then revealed herself. She was standing over them with a raised eyebrow and hands on her hips.

"Constant Vigilance," She growled, glaring at them, before hopping down from the boulders and making her way back towards the trail back to town.

Remus followed through on removing his spell and gave Harry and Sirius a weary look before following behind her. He could see she was half-way down the rise already by the time she Apparated away. He looked over to make sure that the boys were following their lead before shuffling down the ridge himself and Apparating to the agreed upon spot.

Dora was there when he appeared, she looked angry. "What are they playing at?" she asked him rhetorically. "They were just sitting there carrying on. We snuck up on them no problem. They should have been watching to see if the path we'd been taking had any shifting rocks. And that spell they'd used?! It doesn't just silence them-."

She was cut off as the two of them appeared beside them with a crack.

"That didn't just silence you!" she turned on Sirius more than Harry, "It blocked out sound that we would have been making as well. What if we'd called for help and you didn't hear it? How STUPID are you?" Not waiting for an answer she turned abruptly away from them and started stalking back to the village.

Remus had seen her angry before, but it had always been at him, and about something he could easily set her in a better mood about. Sirius and Harry looked as though they'd been slapped. Neither of them were able to verbalize an apology. From their expressions he knew they were sorry and felt awful, but Dora would have been too worked up to listen to any apology they could manage to formulate anyhow.

"We figured out the area he's in. Perhaps I'd better Apparate her back to the Villa, you two can drive back. Give her some time to vent and cool down." Remus suggested.

Sirius nodded. He was more concerned about Harry's expression though, he looked so upset at himself for disappointing her. Remus moved forward and patted him on the shoulder, "she just needs some time. I'll have her calmed down by the time you get back."

"Thanks," Harry muttered, "and sorry."

Remus turned and jogged after her, catching up when they were only 100 meters away from the wall of the village. He fell in step beside her, "they're going to drive back. We can Apparate."

Her lips pursed but she turned on the spot and blinked out of sight.

He landed pool side and saw her form retreating into the house. Severus was sitting in the shade under the umbrella at the table with one eyebrow cocked at him.

"We found him," he relayed and sat heavily in the chair opposite. "There was some sort of charm or ward in the Reserve outside Gjirokaster."

"Very well," said Snape. "I will make sure I have all the supplies ready for tonight." He let a silence settle between them. "What prompted that?" he gestured towards where Dora had disappeared.

"I'm afraid Sirius and Harry are in a bit of hot water with her. Neither are quite up to her Auror standards and she's not through letting them have it for having their guard down at an inopportune time."

"Something I need to worry about?" Snape wondered.

"No," Remus shook his head. "The two of them should be back in about four hours. You and I, or she, should be ready to go by then. Here's what we figured out-"

()()()

The second night of wandering through the Reserve was not as bad as the first. True, this time he had Black keeping an eye out for him this night, but now he was more prepared for the cold that settled into this valley with no sunshine to fill it. He had more food and warm liquids to sustain him as well, and his footwear let in less of the moisture that built up on the grass and such under his feet.

The first few days in this country had been rather lovely.

There were very few times in his life he could refer to as lovely. But, sitting poolside with the fresh food that the Villa provided with the space to himself while the other four were out, only a small portion of his day dedicated to maintaining his potion, that had been his version of lovely. He may have had this potentially life threatening task to do, but until then he was able to sip a cool drink in a beach chair and take a swim in the pool without anyone seeing him. He couldn't help but plan when he might be able to take a holiday such as this in the future, with-out the company and the Dark Lord of course.

He'd had everything that he needed should he actually find the wraith and convince him of his sincerity and devotion. Albus had approached him not long after the winter break and the two of them had been researching since. The Dark Lord being bonded with Quirinus many years ago was confirmation enough of the form that he would be in now. The Horcruxes though, that had been enlightening. There wasn't much written about them. He did learn enough about them to know that it was absolutely something that the Dark Lord would have attempted.

Before he'd left, Albus had given him the option of seeing the Inferi they transferred _four_ pieces of his soul into. He vehemently refused, there was no knowing if the souls would have some kind of link. There was no literature he found that told him one way or the other.

He had to keep his Occlumency shield up while he was searching. It didn't have to be in the dead of night, but it would be the time that best allowed him to see the wraith. Wraiths preferred the dark as well, he would have been hiding during sunlight hours. The stretch of land that he was occupying wasn't too large though. He had hoped that the wraith would reveal itself to him shortly.

If it did so with that bumbling fool Quirinus, it should for one of its marked followers.

Nymphadora had been remarkably quiet following him yesterday. The invisibility cloak she'd had was of the highest caliber he'd ever seen, and he'd hoped to observe it closer and find out where it had come from. Sirius was wearing it now, but he was not as silent, every now and then he heard a wayward stone being tread on or a twig being snapped.

The sensation he felt when he crossed into the territory that the Dark Lord was occupying stayed with him as he searched. First he'd trudged through what he'd believed to be the center of the area, then looped around the perimeter.

There had been no sign of him on the first night, no matter where he'd travelled.

Tonight he was going to go to the approximate middle and set up a camp of sorts and stay there with a small fire to warm him. Perhaps if he simply stayed put his former master would approach him.

Setting up a small camp he lit a fire and began pulling items from his lightweight satchel; a cauldron, food for sustenance, a potions set with several special vial's. He took up on a log by the fire and waited.

He pulled up his sleeve, looking at his faded Dark Mark in the fire light, tracing the design and straining his ears.

He had put a lot of energy into the search for the perfect potion. It would have brought him into the Dark Lords inner circle and made him one of his most trusted advisors. Someone to be revered by the likes of Lucius Malfoy and his brat of a child. He could only imagine the ways in which his master would have given his gratitude.

The potion had been found in the personal library in the Headmasters office. It was where most of the texts referring to banned areas of study by the Ministry had gone to retire, collecting dust and the wisdom of the words being lost to generations. There were obvious reasons that such materials be limited to the public, but there was no index, no cataloging of any of the books that had been banished. In the wrong hands, in the inexperienced hands, the spells and potions related to Dark Materials would be catastrophic, but in scholarly and methodical ones, they would be very enlightening.

He'd brewed this potion four times to ensure that it would turn out the same way each time. He'd collected the ingredients needed, the one's that his former lord would approve of. He was positive that he would be able to do this correctly. So long as the wraith finally appeared to him.

The waiting was the worst part. Last night had been long and fruitless, tonight had been more aggravating considering whom it was that was watching him. The only better part about having to be up all night for this night than the last was that he'd decided to stay in the one spot by the fire.

The night was waning as he heard movement approaching him. He turned in the direction it was coming from and squinted his eyes in the poor light. The rustling of leaves on the ground was growing closer. It could be that the fire had called an animal to him, but he had seen so few in this area that he doubted it. The section that was warded had repelled most fauna.

It was a glass lizard that came close to the fire. He watched cautiously and carefully as it circled around the flames. That was not typical reptile behavior.

"My Lord?" he whispered. "My Lord, please, if it is you let me know. Show me in some way. I have searched this country, been through several of its forested area's in search of you. I had hoped, from the ward I felt as I crossed the stream, that this is where I would finally find you." He let visions of his time as a loyal Death Eater float across his mind and through his shields.

"My Lord," he bowed his head and continued. "I know you are still alive, somehow. I heard tale of how that bumbling fool Quirinus Quirrell had managed to find you. How he had shared his body with you. And I have discovered a way. A way to give you a body back. You will have no need to share one, particularly with someone unworthy like he had been."

The glass lizard raised itself up, peering into Severus' eyes. These animals were classified as lizards and common to the area, but they were by all appearances snakes. Its full height was equal to that of Serverus' when he was sitting down.

"It is you," Severus breathed out in awe. He went to his knees and bowed his head. "My Lord! I am so pleased to have found you! Finally. Please, my Lord. I don't know how you have managed it, but from all that I have learned you are in your wraith form. I can give you your body back. There is a way, even if I don't have the anchor that is holding you to this earth."

The lizard opened its mouth wide, wider than should have been possible and a dark mist came out of it, hovering there as the lizard fell to the ground and slowly moved away into the trees.

Severus shivered as he stared with wide eyes at his former master. He had seen a lot of horrible things in his time and read about so many gruesome things, but he had never been before something quite so terrifying as the wraith form of his former master. As he was, he wouldn't have been able to possess a fully grown human, but no doubt that if there had been a child that stumbled into the area, he would have taken over their body without hesitation.

"What is this spell?" came the disembodied voice from the mist.

"Allow me to set up the cauldron, my Lord and I will explain," he stomached his fear behind his normal facade of capability and moved around the mist carefully to summon a tripod with a hook to hold up the cauldron, stoking the fire to get it hot enough. "The potion that I discovered requires a belonging of yours. It took me a while to find something, but a note you had given me with instructions on a task from my initiation, I kept it and it will work. Your signature was at the bottom." He told him this in a simpering and auspicious manner as he withdrew the note from his potions supplies.

"Next, I beg for your apologies master, I needed to do my research on your origins." He bowed his head again. "A bone of a relative," he whispered. "I discovered where Marvolo Gaunt was buried, last known descendant of the Slytherin line. He is your grandfather, yes?"

"How do you know this?" the mist asked angrily.

"Thorough research, my Lord. It was not easy to figure out who your blood relatives were, your birth name, nor the location of your grandfather's bones. It took many months." He raised the vial with a talus bone. "This however," he removed another vial with a small amount of blood and turned to the mist with a feral smile that looked so out of place on his face and felt it. "This is blood of a foe."

"Whom is this foe?" asked demanded the voice.

"Albus Dumbledore." Severus told him proudly standing up tall. "I 'assisted' in healing him after an altercation with a few students. The old man must be losing his edge. The children managed to do little more than make his nose bleed, but it was enough."

"You sound very proud to have simply found yourself in ideal circumstances." The voice drawled, unimpressed.

Severus bowed his head. "My Lord, I assure you, I would have gotten it another way if necessary. Either his or Harry Potter's,"

The voice let out a hiss and cut him off. "That child!" The mist floated around fervently. "How old is he now?"

"Sixteen, My Lord. Not yet of age."

"As soon as I am strong enough I will end him."

"I have no doubt, My Lord." Severus bowed. He had prepared the potion ahead of time that he needed. It had required a month to brew properly. "This is Rificiat Potio, this potion combined with the three other ingredients and yourself in your wraith form will give you a body. You will be weak to begin with, but you will grow just as strong as you were before."

"What promise have you of this?" he demanded.

"I pledged my allegiance to you My Lord, I swear to you. This will work. I have studied Potions Making all these years. It has been made correctly. You do not need to be in this form anymore. You can take your rightful place in this world again."

The mist circled around his head and he stood stalk still, allowing him to gather just how truthful he was being.

"And if it is not?" the mist asked. "What then? What if your potion fails and you harm your master further. How will you punish yourself?"

"Master, if the potion does not work it will be incapable of harming you. As a wraith you cannot be harmed. You will simply continue on as you are, and I will work tirelessly until I get it right. I am determined to give you your human form."

"Proceed," he said carefully, a hint of eagerness evident.

Severus could see the Dark Lord in his minds eye as he was before, sitting at the head of a magnificent table surrounded by his followers and commanding them with his blood red eyes and a domineering wave of his hand. He went forward to the cauldron and poured in the Reficiat Potio, stirring constantly while he waited for it to bubble. "It is ready," he told him. "I will add the other ingredients first, you are the last to go in."

"I did wonder," the mist began. "You must have been rather disappointed in me after I killed the one you loved."

Severus froze a moment before answering. "Loved is a rather flowery term," he managed. "She made her decision. I made mine." He refused to think on it and reached for the letter. He tossed it into the cauldron and stirred. Next went Marvolo Gaunt's foot bone, lastly from the vials was Albus Dumbledore's blood.

"It is ready, My Lord."

The mist circled him again, winding around his body several times. "I watched you when you arrived here last night," it told him. "You seemed rather disappointed after you left."

"I was, My Lord. I was sure you were here. I could feel it."

"And when I have a body, what then?"

"Then I will get you back to England, back to where you belong. You will gain strength, and everyone will know that you survived. It will inspire the nation, and the world!"

The mist considered him another moment before drifting over to hover above the cauldron before slowly lowering into the potion. There was a puff of smoke that he had been expecting and a scream from inside the cauldron. The air around him turned putrid, telling him that it had worked. He waited for the smell to clear, then levitated the cauldron off the flames and turned it onto its side, pouring out the liquid onto the ground, and with it came out a being that was growing with rapid speed. The being looked a tangle of pinkish string that was slowly expanding and taking on the form of a man.

It let out a gasp from its forming mouth. Slowly the man untangled from its balled-up position and star fished out on the cold ground. Fingers and toes separated from each other. The eyes opened and limbs became defined. The liquid that covered the body quickly became part of it or dripped away.

He struggled, the form being too weak to hold itself up.

Severus felt a tap on his shoulder. "It's done," he drawled. "Let us contain him as he is before we take him back to London."

()()()

**AN- Yes. I know that's not how the potion worked in GoF. Anyone that wants to be a pain about that might want to consider that this is fiction on fiction. I can make up whatever potion I want, could have had Snape tap the mist and say 'Alakazam' and 'poof', Tom Riddle is a real boy again.**

**And, to the guest reader that was either wondering if this story was a repost from days passed, or accusing me of plagiarism (on fanfiction?!); no. I did write all of this myself and as it says directly in the summary that I hadn't seen this story line here, so if you can find the story you believe I was ripping off (you know, besides J. ) please share with us. **

**Also, this story started being posted nearly a year ago, so perhaps you got to chapter 6 when it was initially posted and are now re-reading THIS story again.**


	32. Finding Out

**AN- There isn't any recording of what Mrs. Crouch's name was, so I made one up.**

**Fair warning, there is a somewhat graphic death scene in this chapter.**

**()()()**

**Chapter 32: Finding Out**

**()()()**

Bartemius Crouch rarely had reason to visit his son. There was no need. His House Elf kept the boy supplied with food and potion to keep him in line, keep him submissive. For a long time now the man felt resentful of his late wife. If he could do it all over again, he would have denied her her last request and spent those last few days or weeks at her side.

He'd known his child was a problem from early on, but Lavinia didn't see it. Junior was her little angel, and any discretion's he'd made were simply poor judgement, she was so sure that he would grow out of it.

He still loved her though, with all his heart. How the two of them could have made a boy that disregarded the rules of society, ones that it had been _his_ job to enforce and lay judgement on, how that boy could be so different from them he just didn't understand. He never took the time to understand.

Now that boy had been hiding in his house for fifteen years and his beloved wife had died cold and alone, her body cast out to sea.

Today though. Today he had reason to see his son.

He wanted to see his face when he realized what a hypocrite his former master was. What his former master had become, simply a decrepit old man that was rotting in a cell in Azkaban where he belonged. A special cell too. One with prime placement in a circular room, surrounded by cells of his old followers who now knew the truth about his history as well as the rest of the Magical world.

How he himself was a _Half-__blood_.

The only special power that that man had was due to the game of politics and nerve. He didn't have any special power because of his lineage. He was descended from Slytherin, so what? There were several in their communities that came from prestigious lines. His ancestor started a _school_. The Crouch line had prestige from the potioneer who invented Polyjuice. He'd gotten more use out of that than he had out of Hogwarts.

He should have home schooled that brat. It would have done him a world of good to get a caning every now and then instead of a few detentions wiping out cauldrons.

Armed with the publications telling of _Tom Riddle's_ history and the most recent article detailing his return and immediate incarceration, Bartemius Crouch barged into the west wing of the house and located his offspring in the study, he thrust the articles at him.

"Read this," he sneered and turned on his heel. He didn't want to look at Barty any more than he had to. Winky was by the door, having followed him in. "Make sure he reads ever single word," he warned the elf.

She bowed and gave repeated promises of complying as he marched out of the wing and back down the stairs to his own study.

The world had been rocked on its foundations since Sirius Black and Nymphadora Tonks returned to England with the unconscious body of Tom Riddle between them, bringing him directly to Amelia Bones, who immediately called Cornelius Fudge and himself to her office. He hadn't believed it at first, none of the three of them had. This 'man', if you wanted to call him that, had been dead for fifteen years. Where would he have been hiding for so long that no one else had discovered him?

It had taken Albus Dumbledore and a series of tests performed by the retired Head Healer of St. Mungo's, Jacqueline Blake, to confirm that that was in fact the man they were claiming he was.

They were then all sworn to secrecy when told the truth about how it was that he'd survived.

There was no way on heaven or earth that he would be sharing that information with anyone. In fact, he had made Dumbledore put a lock on their minds to hold in that information. Should he somehow fall into a rage and let it slip whilst he beat his son, as he had done a handful of times since locking his son away in his home.

A shiver ran through him as he recalled the way the Inferi had looked. Its red eyes and the expression that came to its face when it recognized itself in the unconscious body out of reach of its cage. Dumbledore had used a spell he had never heard of before to show them the matching pieces of soul residing in the Inferi and the 'man' that was unconscious. There was so little soul left residing in the 'man', it was amazing that a being could live with less than a percentage of one's soul. Cornelius had not hesitated giving Dumbledore the permission he needed to use Fiendfyre to destroy the Inferi. It hadn't taken long for the thing to be disintegrated into ashes.

The emergency Wizengamut meeting had decided the fate of Tom Riddle rather quickly. The articles by George H.M. Rannier had recently been picked up by the Daily Prophet from the Quibbler, the anonymous author providing proof of all the accusations made from newspaper snippets and school and employment records. It was incredible that such a story had come out of the Quibbler and been true.

No one was afraid to call him by his birth name now, if rather felt like one was spitting directly in his face by calling him that. It gave Bartemius himself a perverse thrill to have called him that to his face, now he would get to see what Barty Jr. thought about all this when he went back to check on him shortly. He couldn't stop the sinister twitching at the side of his mouth as he rolled through some of the scenarios that could play out when he went back to the west wing while he prepared a light dinner for himself.

He ate his food and then went to pour himself a dram of scotch. He took his time walking back up the stairs, holding his head high and proud as he headed towards the locked west wing. Unlocking the door he swung it open an froze in shock as he saw his House Elf laying face down in the hall in front of him, a small puddle of blood collecting under her head.

"Hello, Father," came the cold voice of his son beside him before everything went black.

()()()

"Well, fancy meeting you here." Ginny grinned as she walked into the Common Room and promptly dropped her suitcase beside the couch he was on before plopping herself in his lap and giving him a big kiss.

Harry chuckled against her lips but wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back. "Mmm, missed you," he grinned.

"You had a very exciting holiday," she said pulling back enough for them to properly look at each-other's faces.

"Did I ever," he agreed. It had been in all the papers about the discovery and incarceration of Tom Riddle, but she was one of the few people that knew his involvement. He'd sent her an owl as soon as he got back from Albania, simply letting her know he was back, safe, and the country had been beautiful. Then Sirius had taken him away to the Isle of Gibraltar for the last few days of the holiday while everyone else let the news settle in back home.

The general public probably wouldn't ever know the whole story of what happened, and no doubt there were several people out there that thought Tom Riddle needed to be drawn and quartered rather than tucked away in Azkaban for who knows how many years. Apparently, Grindelwald was still locked away somewhere, but it was much cushier an environment than one would expect a prison to be, Grindelwald had books and such to keep him occupied and pass the time with a personal guard.

There were reports directly from a few of the Auror's that had put Riddle in his cell stating that there was no way he was going to get out, and it was bound to be the most miserable and soul crushing place in the world to lock him up. Dora had been one of the Auror's that got to escort him to his cell. They'd moved a bunch of the convicted Death Eaters into surrounding cells and filled them in with all the proof they needed of Tom Riddle's history to discredit him. Riddle himself was essentially stuck in a bird cage circled with his previous followers, whom were none too pleased to find out his true history when it was given to them before his arrival.

"Did you miss me though?" she asked cheekily.

"Did I ever," he repeated and pulled her in for another kiss.

"Oi," Ron called over from the stairs. "How about you put your luggage away first? Then find somewhere else to be mushy, I don't want to see that."

Ginny rolled her eyes but got up and picked up her bag. "Meet you over in your dorm in a minute?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Bring Hermione with you? She wanted to ask some questions about what happened too, but figured we should wait until you and Ron are back."

Harry had come back through the Floo in Remus' office again, Ginny and Ron coming back through Hogsmeade as they had over Christmas. Hermione had opted to stay through the holiday so that she could get a head start on her exam prep. He would just never be able to wrap his head around the way his friends mind worked. She could probably stop reading her textbooks now, ignore the next two months of classes and still get 110% on her finals. She'd be even worse next year.

Neville came back on the train and had gone up to the dorm for a lay down and a sulk; his Gran had been giving him a hard time over the break because his tests scores had not improved over the year. Luna had tried to take his mind off it, if the lipstick on his neck was any indication, but he still would take a bit to get over the disappointment of his Gran.

Ron was chatting with Neville as he shook the belongings of his bag back into the trunk at the end of his bed. "-but I got a lot of time up by the goal posts. I tell ya, Gin has got one wicked arm on her."

"Did you spend the entire holiday playing Quidditch?" asked Neville, rather stupefied.

"Yeah," Ron shrugged as though there was nothing wrong with that. "I finished up all my assignments first, wasn't like I had anything else to do."

Harry was happy they'd done some practice over the holidays. They had a game coming up against Ravenclaw in a few weeks, and he'd had three crappy practices before the Easter break. "The girls are coming over in a minute," he told them.

"Were you there when they found him?" Ron asked with wide eyes.

"No," he shook his head. "I was basically the kitchen boy for the last few days, only so much I could have contributed with my being underage and all. The first few days we were just us looking everywhere for where he might have been hiding." He turned back to Neville, "doing any better?"

"I guess I could have had a worse holiday," he admitted. "At least I got to see Luna a bit. She hasn't met Gran yet though. I don't want to subject her to that."

"I wouldn't think there would be much that could make Luna act any way other than how she is. Bet any opinion your Gran has of her wouldn't bother her," Harry offered.

"Probably, but still. My Gran is opinionated and doesn't have a filter. Luna doesn't need to deal with that from someone in my family. It's bad enough that she still gets it from the girls in her dorm."

"They still swiping her stuff?" Ginny asked as she let herself and Hermione into their room. She headed straight for Harry's bed while Hermione went over and greeted Ron with a hug before settling down beside him on his bed.

"Yeah, they are," Neville frowned.

"I'll take care of it."

"Ginny! What is that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked pointedly.

"Don't you worry your Prefect little head over it. I promise I will leave no proof of my involvement in any episodes they have."

Hermione pursed her lips at her friend and turned her attention to Harry. "We're all together now. Will you tell us?"

"Is George H.M. Rannier all done?" Harry needed to know. She'd gotten Tom Riddle's story out there as much as was needed for a rounded enough record in the history books.

"All done. I've accomplished what I set out to with those articles," she swore. "And!" she brightened. "I've talked to Muggle Studies Professor, Professor Burbage, they're going to be getting new textbooks made! She put me in contact with the person that was responsible for creating the last one, and I've offered to help. Now there will be information on computers and technology that has been created. There will be a field study component added to the class as well. We're going to meet up over the summer and discuss all the potential changes. She seemed really eager about it!"

"That's great Hermione," Harry told her, mentally making a note to talk to Professor Hooch and Sirius about getting the Nimbus 2001's that he'd meant to get for the Quidditch teams like he'd thought of during the first meeting with the Goblin's about the Basilisk proceeds.

"So," Ron turned to him, "Albania? What was it like? Did you see him?"

"I only saw him for a few minutes. They had to get him back to the Villa we were staying at and get a Portkey back to the Ministry. It was super early in the morning. Sirius, Dora and Snape took him, Remus and I got everything packed away and came back later. By the time we'd arrived there had already been a Wizengamut meeting and they'd confirmed who he was, everything."

"I'm amazed that it all happened like that," Hermione expressed.

"Everyone had been prepared for it. Snape had been researching the potion he'd used for months, Remus had a few 'net' spell ideas he'd been playing with for months as well. Dora had all kinds of maps with potential area's crossed off and narrowed down. The only reason it seems to have gone so easily is because there were so many people working on it," he explained.

"So then," Ron picked up the conversation after they'd all had a few moments of silence to reflect on what could have possibly gone wrong. "You don't have to worry about tracking down the last Dark Lord, and Hermione, you are all done with one of your major research projects. Looks like it should be just schoolwork and Quidditch for the rest of the year," he grinned.

"Well," said Hermione, "those and the other thing."

"What other thing?" Ron asked in confusion.

She swiftly grabbed his collar and pulled his lips firmly against his. The other three laughed and clapped as Ron quickly wrapped his arms around her and responded eagerly.

()()()

It was ridiculously easy getting there. Really. He should have killed Winky and stolen the hair of his father much, much sooner. No one questioned him at any point along the way. Bartemius Crouch's demand for a Portkey to and from Azkaban prison was given to him without question. He'd simply walked into the Ministry and gotten what he needed immediately. His fathers wand worked for him perfectly, his magic was still as strong as ever; that was going to be necessary for what he had in mind.

It had taken a lot to break the hold his father had on him. All these years his will power had been kept at bay by the Imperius his father had placed on him. He'd been sequestered away and hidden from sight of anyone but that House Elf. It was the articles that had made his emotions strong enough to break the curse.

Now Winky was dead, his father was dead, and he was standing on the dock looking at the fortressed prison in his father's likeness with enough Polyjuice Potion to last him several more hours in a flask at his hip.

The two Auror's guarding the only entrance to the prison didn't request any proof of who he was. That was one thing his father had going for him; he was such a miserable bastard that no one wanted to talk to him. He went through the doors and barked at the only other Auror inside the building that he required an audience with Tom Riddle, then was given directions on how to get there.

"How many other Auror's are there in here?" he demanded of the young man in uniform.

"There's ten total on patrol," he answered immediately. "They don't go into that room though unless it's feeding time. That's not for another two hours. Did you need one of us with you?"

"I think I can handle him. He is locked up and pathetically weak right now, is he not?" he scoffed.

"Yes sir, of course, sir." The Auror's cheeks colored and his lips tightened together.

Barty narrowed his eyes at him. His father really didn't deserve any kind of fear from these people. He was a worthless man. A _dead_ worthless man.

Marching down the damp corridors he found the room and observed it from the entrance.

There was a single beam of light shining into the small domed cage he was locked in, a total of ten cells surrounded the exterior of the room. There was Bellatrix, her hair even more crazy than ever. Two cells down from her was Rabastien, it appeared that he had been scratching at his face for the last decade. There were others that he hadn't known as well pacing back and forth behind the bars muttering towards the middle about Mudbloods and filthy half-breeds, all directed towards the center cell.

He moved further into the room and all attention snapped to him. There were calls and jeers and taunts coming at him from all directions as he made his way towards the cell.

"This looks like it is rather uncomfortable," he said taking in the small camp bed and bucket. There was a tin for water, but nothing else in the space, not even a blanket. "Are they concerned you might try to hang yourself if they give you some kind of fabric?"

"I cannot be killed," sneered the half-man.

"You can be deceived though, can't you."

His red eyes flashed with pure hatred. He had no rebuttal though. What more could he say? He was stuck in here forever as far as the Ministry was concerned.

He still claimed he couldn't be killed though.

"Are you saying that if I raised my wand to you right now, you wouldn't die, no matter what spell I cast your way?" he asked calmly.

"You wouldn't be capable of casting a killing curse," his eyes narrowed, there was a small glint of promise behind them though. Very nearly taunting him into trying.

"Are you sure about that? I believe you may have me confused with someone else," he raised an eyebrow at him and let a smirk come to his face. "My father, perhaps?" he tilted his head.

The weak man managed to rise to his feet, attempting to hold himself as proud and able as he had once been. Riddle surveyed the man in front of him, realizing what was really going on. "Come to free your master? What a good Death Eater you are, Barty."

Barty Crouch Jr took a few steps back from his cage. "Actually, I am my own master now. I just _really_ wanted to watch this," he smirked with a deranged glint in his eyes. Swiftly had cast his wand towards each cell around the room in succession, freeing the inhabitants.

Each of the other prisoners took a moment to understand what was happening before stepping out of their cells hesitantly.

"You have all learned of how this Half-blood has deceived us?" Barty asked them.

A resounding "Aye" was called out.

"And what do we do with filthy, lying half-bloods that leave us in incarceration?" he asked them sinisterly.

Tom Riddle's face dropped into one of frozen shock as his eyes darted around to all of his previous followers. Each of them had been living in this place for the years since he'd fallen. He'd been listening to their calls and jeers, about his parentage, about how he'd been defeated by a _baby_, about how he'd been caught and was visibly weak. They were all bloodthirsty and he was the reason for it.

Barty Jr. blasted the iron of the cage apart and the ten prisoners around him lunged towards it. They descended on Riddle's weak form, knocking him to the floor and stomping on his limbs. Barty watched as they kicked his ribs, punched his face and then five of them started pulling at his appendages and his head until there were audible popping noises.

He watched gleefully with wide eyes as they threw him to the ground and Rabastien picked up the camp bed and broke off one of the legs. He took that leg and jammed it through Riddle's eye socket as the others held him down. Another broke of a second leg and did the same with his other eye. A third took yet another leg of the bed and brought it down between his already compressed chest cavity.

Their hoots and hollers called the attention of the Auror's that were on duty.

Barty didn't care, he had his fail safe in place. Why, he was just an innocent bystander.

What he hadn't been prepared for though was for one of the escapees to grab his flask and take a celebratory drag, effectively turning himself into Bartemius Crouch Senior as well, and before the eyes of the Auror's that had just infiltrated the room.

These young Auror's were no more than cowboys at this point in their training. There was an outbreak in the prison and it was obvious to them now that one or both of these Ministry representatives in front of them was an impostor. The fear inside them must have been what called them to use the cutting hexes on the prisoners. The escapee's standing behind Barty Jr. used him for a shield, making his clothing and skin cut open repeatedly and the world around him fade away to black.

Only a few hours of freedom he'd had. Now he would be joining his former master in hell.

()()()

The first morning after the Easter Holidays the Great Hall received nearly double the amount of owls than usual, even considering the number of students that could have simply left their assignments at home, that was a ridiculously high amount of correspondence.

Hermione was the first one of their group to figure out why. She was gasping from the headline on the front page of the Daily Prophet before Neville or Ron had managed to untie the letters that had come to them from their Gran and Mother respectively.

Ginny was beside her and read over her shoulder. "Holy Fuck!" she exclaimed loudly.

Hermione was too shocked by the contents of the newspaper to remark on her crass words. That was a major indicator to Harry that he should get off his arse and read over her shoulder as well.

Break in at Azkaban! Tom Riddle Brutally Killed by Death Eaters. Auror's Required to Execute Those Involved in Attack!

Harry nearly fell over from what he saw there. His head snapped over to the Head Table. Remus and Dumbledore were missing, but Snape was talking to McGonagall. He didn't know if going up to Snape would be a wise decision.

"Harry," Ginny tugged on his sleeve to gain his attention. "The Map?" she asked, reminding him that he had the Marauders Map on him.

He took back up in his seat and pulled it out of his seat as a muffled sob came from the other side of the table. Looking over he saw it was Neville. He had one hand over his mouth and was staring at a letter in his hands with wide watery eyes.

"Neville?" Hermione asked with concern. "Neville, what's wrong?"

He couldn't form an answer, he closed his eyes tight and passed the letter to Ron before setting his head down on his crossed arms on the table. Ron skimmed the letter and Harry watched as the color drained from his face. He took a gulp and looked up at the three of them on the other side of the table.

"The Death Eaters that, that… his parents," he looked awkwardly down at his friend. "They were executed in the attack."

"The Lestranges," Hermione nodded sadly.

"And…" Ron swallowed. "And Bartemius Crouch Junior."

"What?!" Hermione exclaimed in a screech.

Ron held up the letter a bit. "This says that his body was found there as well. He had Polyjuice Potion to look like his father and basically walked right into Azkaban. He was the one that started the… riot."

Harry looked over at Hermione with wide eyes. They'd talked about that before Christmas. It was mentioned in the Quibbler that it had been odd that Barty Crouch Junior and his mother seemed to have died at the same time. It looks like those remarks had been founded.

"What's happened to his father then?" Ginny asked, "has someone talked to him? Has he been hiding his son all this time?"

"He was found dead at his home. Recently. Looks like he'd been keeping him locked away," Ron told her from what he'd read.

"Neville?" Ginny reached out to clasp her hand over his balled-up fist. "Neville, did you want me to grab Luna? Do you want to go somewhere?"

"ATTENTION STUDENTS," Dumbledore's voice boomed out.

Harry gave a start, he hadn't been there a moment ago.

"Students, no doubt you all heard about how, over the holiday, the one who called himself Voldemort, Tom Riddle, was finally captured after all this time. No doubt most of you received word this morning through your loved one's or through journalistic efforts about the break-in at Azkaban and subsequent death of he and several of his old followers.

"This may be difficult news for several of you as I know for a fact that quite a lot of you had friends and family that suffered in the last war because of them. We will be cancelling classes for today. If you feel the need or desire to talk to anyone, please see your head of house, lean on a trusted friend or go to a Professor. I would urge you to please talk about this. Too much of the last war was kept quiet, and I do believe that this event came about as a direct result of the truth being shared."

He didn't look too long over towards Hermione at that point, but Harry was sure that the majority of his classmates would have believed Dumbledore to have been looking at himself instead. Harry wanted to turn and look at Hermione then as well.

He had a jumble of feelings about this. On the one hand he believed they'd deserved it and he hoped it hurt horribly before they all met their end, on the other hand would others feel that they'd gotten justice for all of the awful things Riddle and his followers had done? Riddle had been in hiding for fifteen years, then imprisoned for only four days?

It wasn't like they could tell everyone what had truly happened to him, where he'd been, _what_ he'd been.

Remus still wasn't at the head table. Harry unfolded the map to display Remus' quarters and kept it out of sight before activating it and seeing that not only was Remus in his suite, but so was Sirius. Before he could leave the table though and go talk to them, he had to make sure Neville was alright.

They were all sitting in the middle of the long Gryffindor Table, Neville had his head in his hands still and his shoulders were shaking. Not caring how it would look, Harry stood up, stepped up onto the bench and walked over the table to sit down by his friend and put his arm around him. He was expecting to hear a reprimand from the Head Table, or Hermione, over that one. There would have had to have been too many reprimands though as it appeared he'd started a trend. Several students in every house had begun climbing over and under the tables to get closer to a friend in need of comfort.

Neville turned towards him at Harry's touch and wrapped his arms around him, crying softly into his shoulder. He didn't have any words of comfort for him, even just telling him to let it all out, he just hugged his best mate back and waited until he was ready to let go.

Luna came over to the table and tapped Harry on the shoulder.

"Nev? Luna's here. I think she wants to be a part of this." Harry told him softly.

Luna gingerly pulled Neville's arm from around him and put it over her shoulder instead, scooching in to occupy the bench beside him as Harry moved back. "Thanks Luna," Harry told her. "Neville mate, I'm sorry. I have to go and talk to Remus, I'll find you right after, okay?"

He didn't acknowledge that he heard him, but he knew Luna would relay that.

"We'll stay," Ron spoke for himself and Hermione. Ginny had come around to that side of the table as well and took Harry's hand.

They turned and rushed as fast as they could to Remus' suite without breaking into a run. One knock on the door and it swung open.

"Did any of the Auror's mention anything about a vapor or whatever leaving the body?" Harry asked by way of greeting to the two men.

"None. Nothing whatsoever about an excess of power being shown, dark lights… no magic of any kind was shown being used by Riddle or any of the Death Eaters besides Barty Crouch Jr." Remus said firmly. "Dora must have interrogated the Auror's on duty ten time's each, asking them specific questions. Looks like Junior went in looking like his father and basically let the other Death Eaters have at him."

"So," Ginny started. "So then, he's really dead then. Those were all the Horcruxes? He only made six?"

"It seems so," Sirius told them.

"Is there any way to check?" Harry asked.

"It has been checked. Was before he was put in Azkaban and the Inferi was destroyed," Remus told him.

The two students took a sigh of relief. "Dumbledore cancelled classes for the rest of the day," Ginny told them.

"Time for a cup of tea then," Sirius went to the small kitchen and the rest moved to take a seat at his table.

They drank their tea silently, reflecting over the news of the day. This was what they'd all been working towards, it just wasn't the ending that they'd seen coming. They finished the pot of tea Sirius went home after giving Harry hug and kissing the top of Ginny's head, Remus waited for word from Dora and Harry and Ginny found their friends outside and spent the rest of the day trying to give whatever comfort they could to Neville.

It was a few days before Neville was doing better. After a few weeks the student population had moved on to exam stress, and after a few months everyone was excited to head home for the summer. The Magical world had all moved on from the shock.

No one was talking about it anymore. The subject had been exhausted and forgotten.

Summer break came and Sirius had planned a few little trips away for he and Harry to take to the Continent. Harry and he also had many an occasion to head over the Weasley's for, and Ginny had talked Harry into having everyone over to Potter Manor for a big end of summer bash before they headed into their new year.

Harry was named Quidditch Captain again, Hermione was named Head Girl, and Sirius surprised everyone by enrolling in Auror Training. He claimed he needed to do something to pass the time, and those girls were fit.

Life was no more stressful than it should have been for the lot of them.

**The End**

()()()

Want everyone to know that your favorite Hinny authors have all banded together and created a real life collaboration of original works. It is called 'Into the Mystic' and you can find it through most of your literary sites like Amazon or Barnes and Noble plus several more.

Ffn doesn't do hyperlinks, so copy the link below and remove the spaces if you'd like to check it out through Amazon!

amazon . com dp/1938808568/


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